Misery
by AmberSue616
Summary: AU after Vector Prime...The galaxy has been at a relative peace for years, but now the threat of evil will hit a little closer to home for our heros. Will they survive the darkness or will one of their own be lost forever?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize isn't mine.

These events fall in the middle of the lives of the three Solo children. They and their friends had years of experience before this story began, and some of them would go on to more adventures afterward. The universe belonged to their generation. The older heroes had retired. Luke and Mara Skywalker taught the young Jedi on Yavin 4, rarely leaving the Academy except in times of great need, in no small part because the students included their three young daughters. Leia Organa Solo, despite having retired from her position as Chief of State, remained on Coruscant in the lesser role of Senator. After the brief Yuuzhan Vong wars and the death of Chewbacca, Han Solo also retired, at least according to the public view.

Jaina Solo was twenty when she was pregnant with a set of twins who would later be known as the third generation of Jedi Twins. The father was assumed to be Zekk Dallinger, who married her before the twins were born. Later this was proven otherwise, though Jaina had never to her knowledge been with anyone other than Zekk. The father was never found, and Zekk _was_ the children's father in every way that mattered. However, the marriage was rocky, and after four years, the couple separated. Jaina took the children to stay with a friend, Kanyen Elbakni, at first intending to return to Zekk after a while. Fate and Elbakni had other plans. The last the children saw of their mother was while they watched from hiding as she tried and failed to hold off a unit of stormtroopers. Soon they were found and brought to their new master.

Jaina's twin, Jacen Solo, wedded Tenel Ka, the Queen of Dathomir and heir to Hapes cluster. Her people would not accept him as an equal ruler, but he was her trusted counselor as well as faithful husband. They had two daughters-Kirinna, the heir to Dathomir, and Kasaia, the heir to Hapes. The two lived fairly peacefully, balancing the different aspects of their lives, until the disappearance of Jacen's sister, niece, and nephew disrupted their peaceful existence.

Anakin, the youngest Solo, met Miri Ramanan once as a child. Six years later, when they met again, she was the young widow of Kryztofar Golden, with an infant son and another on the way. Anakin and Miri fell deeply in love, married, and had a daughter. They lived at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, training the young Jedi students-Anakin, in the ways of the Force, and Miri, in other skills ranging from history and philosophy to the Force-deprived combat and tracking she had learned as a bounty hunter's apprentice. They worked together to give balance to the trainees' education, as they would later work together, perfect complements to each other, in the search for Jaina and the twins.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

She opened her eyes.

"State your name and purpose," he said.

"I am Misery, Bringer of Darkness," she replied.

"Do you know me?" he asked. Lady Misery searched her memories.

"Kanyen Elbakni, Master of the Dark Jedi," she replied after a moment. There was something else, something that connected her to him. She couldn't quite focus on it.

"Do you know who you are?" he asked.

"Misery, Bringer of Darkness," she repeated. "Dark Jedi, and your pupil."

"Yes, but do you know that you are an Elbakni?" His growing impatience reached her, and she straightened her posture further. She had to understand.

"Are you my brother?" There was a brother in her memories, but she couldn't quite see his face.

"You are my wife, Lady Misery Elbakni, and I expect you to remember it." His voice was calm, but through the Force she felt his fury stopping just short of striking out at her.

"Oh," she said. She knew the word wife, but it held no real meaning for her. "Who is my brother?" She cared just enough to wonder.

Lord Elbakni walked around her in a slow circle, looking at her from every direction. His anger at her was growing, though not much. Not yet.

"Tell me what you know of this brother," he commanded. She told him what little she could.

"I remember a boy," she said. "Very much like me; a—a friend. A little animal. A lightsaber. Is he a Jedi?"

"Your brother is a Jedi, but not a Dark Jedi. He is on the Light Side." That told her all she needed to know. Her brother must be one of those weak philosophers who were too afraid to touch the true Force. She doubted he would have the spine to challenge them, but if he did, she would have no trouble defeating him. Perhaps she could convince him to join them. Still, that was beside the point; she didn't even know his name or what he looked like.

"Do you remember any other members of your old family?" Lord Elbakni asked.

"No, My Lord," she said.

"Good. They are all gone. I am all you have left in the universe." He made a gesture, and a door opened behind him. Two very small children, a girl and a boy, walked into the room, looking timid.

"Long live the Empire," the little boy said in a small voice.

"These two are Luc and Nova, our Dark Jedi Twins. They will be your charges from this day forward. You will train them as you see fit."

"I am always happy to serve my Empire," said Lady Misery. "And my Master and husband as well."

*

The first training session was not going well.

"Do it again," Lady Misery told Luc, resisting the urge to slap him. That would do no good and only send both of the twins into hysterics again.

"I can't," Luc said in a whiny tone that made her jaw clench.

"Do it," she said in an even firmer tone. It wouldn't do to let them think they would get away with their childishness while she was training them.

Luc concentrated until he went cross-eyed, but the lightsaber didn't do anything.

"_Do it_!" she shouted, startling him into dropping the weapon.

"Why can't we have the kind with a button, like the Light-Siders?" he complained.

"Where did you hear that?" Misery asked coldly.

"I remembered it, Lady Misery," Nova said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "I told him."

"The things that happened to you and the things that you learned before you came to Lord Elbakni are irrelevant," Misery told her. "They don't matter," she clarified when both children looked confused. "Your old lives are gone. You are orphans, with no family left except each other. Lord Elbakni and I have graciously decided to care for you and train you in the ways of the Dark Side so that you may be strong when you grow up. Anyone else would have left you where you were, and then you would have had no lives at all. This is why you must be grateful to Lord Elbakni, and you must never question him. We know what is best for you. Do you understand?"

Luc nodded, but Nova said, "No."

"What do you not understand?" Misery asked with her teeth clenched.

"Why can't we have a lightsaber with a button?"

"_We_ are disciples of the Dark Side. We have all the power of the Dark Side at our disposal. The Light-Siders are infinitely weaker than we are."

"You mean…we're supposed to be stronger than they are, so we should be able to do more." Luc asked tentatively.

"Yes," said Lady Misery. "Now do it." Luc hesitated. "Let's make a bargain, children," Misery said calmly. "As soon as you learn to do this one simple thing, Luc, you may eat." He looked confused, so she added, "Not until you learn it."

"_Oh_." Luc shut his eyes, trying to force the lightsaber on. There was a flicker, and then it died. Nova, perhaps thinking her tutor couldn't tell which one of them was working, _reached_ for the lightsaber and turned it on herself. Misery ripped the lightsaber from Luc's hands, leaving scratches where the metal rubbed against his skin. It came to rest in her hand and she swung it down, stopping centimeters from the little girl's neck.

"Do that again," she snapped, "and I won't stop. _You_ have already proven your ability at this little task—and don't flatter yourself that it's any great thing. There are thousands of other children out there much more powerful than you, and one or both of you could be replaced any time Your Lord decrees. If I had my way you would both be gone, but Lord Elbakni still sees some use in you. I don't understand it, but I suppose that is why he is our Emperor instead of me."

"Leave my sister alone," Luc said breathlessly, looking as if he might faint or throw up or both.

"Get to your quarters," Misery said coldly. "If I hear of you sneaking food you had better hope there is nothing sharp or heavy in my hands." White-faced, the children scrambled out of the room. Gradually, a call from Lord Elbakni reached Misery's senses. She clipped her lightsaber to her belt and walked to Lord Elbakni's office.

"Long live the Empire," she said, saluting. Lord Elbakni saluted back.

"Have a seat," he said. "My Lady of Darkness, tell me. How is it going with the children?"

"Not well, Milord. They are weak and undisciplined, very disobedient, and Luc doesn't seem to have any kind of aggressive power," she said.

"Give them time," he said. "They are still very young." Misery nodded. "Well, Lady Misery, I called you here for a reason. Do you remember the plans we made for the revival of the Empire?"

"You will be the Emperor, and I will be your Darth Vader. When we die, Luc and Nova will take our places," she responded automatically.

"Yes," said Lord Elbakni. "But for a time that cannot happen. And do you know why? Do you know the great obstacle that stands in our way?"

"The…Republic?" she asked.

"Yes. Your mission is to bring down this…_Republic_ and clear the path for the Empire to take its rightful place in the universe," he said.

"How will I do that?" she wondered.

"There are only a few people who need to die," he said. "The leaders of the Republic—namely the Chief of State, Leia Organa Solo, along with anyone else who spends any amount of time with her. Any heroes of the 'rebellion,' such as Han Solo and his ilk. And the foremost among the Light-Side Jedi, such as Luke and Mara Skywalker, and Anakin Solo. Also Tenel Ka, the wife of Jacen Solo, Queen of Dathomir and Heir to Hapes. Her loss will throw both of those systems into a state of confusion and prevent them from moving against us when we take over. All of these are on the old Imperial Capitol right now. You are to kill them all, along with anyone else you see who so much as speaks to one of them. Then you return here. You will go out for more assassinations among the New Republic and Jedi later, when they are no longer expecting you."

"Yes, My Lord. Is there anything else?"

"Indeed there is," he said with a faint smile. "There are very many young Jedi children who can be molded to our ways. You will capture as many as you can from the Solo family. Later we will raid the Jedi Academy for others, but the Solos are likely to be the most powerful." He hesitated just a moment. "Luke Skywalker's oldest is seven. She may be too old for our purposes. Take anyone younger than our twins; for the others, use your best judgment. If they are too wild, you may kill them."

"Yes, Lord Elbakni. I will proceed as you wish," she said, saluting.

"Leave as soon as your TIE fighter is ready," he said. That was her dismissal.

Misery returned to her quarters and changed into a black flightsuit, which was slightly less conspicuous than her uniform, then headed down to the docking bay. The crew of the star destroyer consisted mainly of her, Lord Elbakni, the twins, and a few mechanics, techs, droids, and soldiers. Misery found when searching the slippery memories of her life before her rebirth that she could have done any repairs or touch-ups on the little ship designated as hers. In fact, she could recall being told that she was the best pilot in the galaxy, though she couldn't recall the context.

She did try not to remember. Her old memories just seemed to want to come to the surface. She ignored them as best she could.

Misery climbed up the ladder to her TIE fighter. The controls seemed unfamiliar, as if she were used to flying a different kind of ship. It wouldn't slow her down. She punched the button, and the TIE fighter shuddered to life.

"Preparing to enter hyperspace," she said to herself, inputting the coordinates into the navicomputer. The stars turned to starlines as she shot off toward Coruscant.

*

Leia Organa Solo, Jedi Knight and Chief of State of the New Republic, sat at her desk feeling completely helpless.

Her daughter was missing. She had been gone for more than a month.

With every day that Jaina was gone it became less likely that she would magically show up at home, or that they would get a ransom note, or that they would even get some sign of where to find her.

Leia closed her eyes and tried to block out the image of her baby lying dead in a ditch on some remote dirtball in the outer rim. Nobody had actually felt Jaina die; she had just somehow disappeared from everyone's senses.

Leia stroked the handle of the lightsaber she had lately been wearing at her side, thinking of how gladly she'd carve whoever had her daughter.

And her grandchildren. If the children were hurt…

For her daughter, Leia had only thoughts of vengeance by now. But for the children…She had to hope. If whoever had taken them was cruel enough to murder two innocent children (her mind flashed suddenly on Hethrir, though he hadn't physically harmed her babies…) She would kill them, quite cheerfully, and with no regrets.

*

Misery walked down the hallway, hugging the shadows. She had put on a helmet with a tinted visor so as not to be recognised. Almost the entire family was there: Leia and Han Solo and their sons, and even Luke and Mara Skywalker. None of the children were in evidence, most likely being stored with useful relatives on a "safe" world.

Lady Misery climbed to the top of the catwalk and lay flat on her stomach. She distorted the Force around her to make her feel like a piece of plasteel to the Jedi. They would all have to come through here to get back to Imperial Palace. Misery gritted her teeth, angry at the rebels for stealing the capitol from her Empire.

Suddenly, Misery felt a twinge in the Force, meaning several Jedi were coming her way. She looked down. It was her targets—all of them. They were all dressed in the traditional colours of mourning for each of their worlds, probably for the one Lord Elbakni had 'taken care of.'

_Get over it_, she thought. _You have bigger things to worry about now_. She decided to take out the Chief of State first. Even if she didn't get any of the others, her death would probably be enough for Lord Elbakni to overthrow the government. If nothing else, her death would distract the rest of her family. Just as Misery pulled the trigger, all of the Jedi looked up at her. Han Solo, the only non-Jedi, was the first to react, throwing himself on his wife to shove her out of the way. The beam hit him in the lower back, and they both collapsed.

"Dammit," Misery whispered as they dropped to the ground. The hero was the least important! The two sons, Jacen and Anakin, started climbing up to her. She took off running, but they were right behind her. She looked back and fired without aiming, hitting Anakin in the leg. She was suddenly knocked to the ground as Jacen tackled her. She wrestled with him, trying to throw him off. He knocked off her helmet and then just stopped, staring at her.

"You?" he said breathlessly.

"I am Misery, Bringer of Darkness," she said. She placed the end of her blaster against hisforehead. "This can kill even a Jedi at this range." She pulled the trigger.

*

Anakin limped after his brother. He saw him knock the assassin down and knock off her helmet. Anakin could tell that it was a woman, but he couldn't tell much else. Jacen knocked off the assassin's helmet, then just sat there.

_What's he doing?_ Anakin thought. The assassin put her blaster against Jacen's face.

"No!" Anakin cried, using the Force to _pull_ the blaster out of her hand. The beam went wild, much to Anakin's relief. He had already lost a sister…

The assassin pushed on the suddenly limp Jacen's chest with both hands, knocking him off her. Anakin tried to run after her.

"Come on," he said when he realised that Jacen wasn't moving. "What's wrong? Hurry up!" Jacen just sat there.

"That was Jaina," he whispered finally.

*

Misery ran to the nearest communicator and called for Lord Elbakni.

"Lady Misery," he said. "Have you completed your mission already?"

"No, Lord Elbakni. I only just took down Han Solo. However...One of his sons recognised me. He seemed to know me quite well," she said, a question in her voice.

"Come back tomorrow with the outgoing morning traffic," Lord Elbakni said. "Kill them if you can, but don't worry about it if you don't. I will explain everything when you return." He hesitated. "Don't let anyone see you," he said finally.

"Yes, Lord Elbakni," said Misery. She shut off the communicator and returned to her TIE fighter where she sat, thinking.

"Who am I?" she wondered. She could hardly remember anything before her rebirth. She certainly didn't know who she had been, and she hadn't cared until just now.

Who was she?

*

"How's Dad?" Anakin asked instantly when his older brother came into his room.

"Well, Mom's flipped, of course, and won't leave his side, but I think he should be all right," Jacen said, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed. "How are you?"

"They won't let me get up, but I think I'll be fine. So…Have you said anything about Jaina yet?"

"No," Jacen said reluctantly. "I just…what if I was wrong? I don't want to get everybody's hopes up if this Misery character turns out to be someone else. I mean…we all know what's probably happened to Jaina." He suddenly found that he couldn't quite breathe. Seeing this, Anakin took over for him.

"What if you were right? Who would know her better than her own twin?" Before Jacen could come up with an answer, his comlink started beeping at him. He activated it.

"Jacen Solo, this is Lady Misery; I wish to speak with you," said a rushed female voice. The comlink shut off before Jacen had time to do more than blink.

"One of two possibilities," Anakin said after a pause. They both knew the possibilities. One, of course, was that this was an obvious trap. The other was that it was legitimate. Possibly that it was Jaina.

"I have to go," said Jacen. Anakin nodded, considered going along and then remembered that he couldn't walk.

"Be careful, big brother," he said.

"I will, little brother."

*

Misery waited impatiently, sure that Jacen wouldn't come. Worse, he might come and then betray her. On the other hand, she could betray him. That would be the logical course of action.

She heard a sound behind her and whirled, bringing up her lightsaber.

"Relax, it's just me," Jacen said, stepping into the light. Misery shut off her lightsaber but didn't clip it back onto her belt.

"Do you know me?" she asked. He peered at her face and then smiled.

"Of course, Jaina," he said. "How could I not know my own twin?"

Misery jumped despite her best efforts to hold still. _Jaina? The twin?_ That was more than she had expected.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Can you tell me with absolute certainty that I am who you think I am?" He paused for just a moment.

"You feel a little different, but it's definitely you," he said. Misery (or Jaina?) turned away.

"Then you're all my family," she whispered. "Wait. If you are my family, why did you turn against me?"

"We didn't turn, Jaina, you did," Jacen said softly. "You were kidnapped."

"That's impossible," scoffed Misery. "You can only be Reborn if you come of your own free will. Even the children know that."

"What children?" Jacen asked, his eyes lighting up with what looked like hope.

"The twins. The ones who will inherit the Empire. My students," Misery informed him.

"Are their names Nova and Luc?" he asked.

"How did you know that?"

"That makes sense," Jacen muttered without answering her. "That would explain how they got you. What about Kanyen? He disappeared, too."

"Oh, you mean my husband, Lord Elbakni. He is my Emperor and my teacher in the ways of the Dark Side."

"Blaster bolts, Jaya, they really did a number on you!" Jacen said. "At least if the kids were your students, you kept them safe." Misery nodded, although she had no idea what he was talking about. "Uncle Luke was so glad when they were born," he continued. "Mom and Dad were, too, of course, but Uncle Luke…I thought we'd have to put a restraining bolt on him."

"Why?" Misery asked.

"Because Luc was named after him," said Jacen.

"Why would his parents name him after—our—uncle?" asked Misery. Jacen's eyes widened as he stared at her in disbelief.

"Don't you even know who those children are?" he cried. "Jaina, you're their mother!"

"No, you're wrong," Misery said, slowly backing away. "You're wrong. You're lying!"

"No, Jaina. No, I'm not," Jacen said softly.

"Stop calling me Jaina! I am Misery, Bringer of Darkness!" she cried forcefully. "And I'm leaving!"

"I'm afraid I can't let you," he said, grabbing her arm. "We can help you, Jay--" Without thinking, she slammed her hand into the side of his face. Then she turned and ran.

*

Luc and Nova sat together on the floor of their room. They were both in a very bad mood. Lady Misery had been gone for days, but Lord Elbakni had told them that she was due back any minute. Luc was afraid of Lady Misery. He still couldn't do anything important with the Force. He couldn't even do as much as turn on a lightsaber. He could _see_ things just fine, but when he tried to make a change it just didn't work. Luc didn't know why Nova was stronger than he was, and he didn't know why it was so important for him to be the strongest. After all, she was oldest.

"Lordy Elbow-head's calling us," Nova said. When Luc concentrated, he could feel it too.

"Don't call Lord Ebakani that," he said. "He'll be the Emperor someday. Besides, he's way nicer than Lady Misery."

"They don't scare me, not either one of them," Nova said bravely. But Luc heard her voice quiver a little.

"Come on," Luc said. "We'd better go see what Lord Elbow-head wants." Luc hated to call his Master names like that, but he would do anything to make his sister happy. They took the turbolift to Lord Elbakni's office.

"Long live the Empire," Luc said as he saluted. Nova stubbornly kept her mouth shut. Lord Elbakni looked at her expectantly. Luc tried to copy the look on his face.

"Long live the Empire," she said finally.

"What a bright little pair you are," Lord Elbakni said, instantly turning most of his attention away from Nova now that he had what he wanted of her. "Are you children ready for a special treat?" Luc nodded enthusiastically.

"What is it?" Nova asked warily.

"That's, 'what is it, sir,'" Lord Elbakni told her. "You must never forget the sir. That goes for you too, Luc."

"Yes, sir," the twins said together.

"You see," said Lord Elbakni, "A bright pair." There was a pause. "Well. Your treat. Your dear teacher has come back." Nova was about to groan; Luc poked her in the ribs when Lord Elbakni wasn't watching. "I suggest you go see her immediately." It wasn't really a suggestion.

"Yes, sir," Luc said, saluting. Nova saluted, too.

"I don't want to see Lady Misery," Nova said after they left his office.

"Me neither," said Luc. "But we've gotta."

"Not me," Nova said crossly. "I'm staying here." She plopped down on the floor.

"Nova! You have to go, Lord Ebakani said." Nova just sat. "Lady Misery will punish you." She would punish him too, and probably worse than Nova, but he didn't say so. Luc tried to pull her with his hands and then with the Force. She didn't budge. "Come on," he said, making a sad face. "I don't want to go by myself."

"So don't go," Nova said. Luc smiled. Now he was getting somewhere.

"I am going," he said, and started walking. It wasn't too long before he heard his sister's footsteps behind him.

*

When Lady Misery let them in, Luc knew instantly that he was different, though he couldn't quite tell how. He examined her, trying to figure it out. He was startled to find tears in the corners of her eyes when she looked back at him.

"Lady Misery, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asked. He was shocked to find that he would readily blast away anyone who did something terrible enough to make Lady Misery cry. He and Nova went over to hold her hands.

"You can tell us," Nova said helpfully. "Maybe we can make it better." Even though Lady Misery was so mean and scary, Luc and Nova both wanted just to make her feel happy. And Luc quickly discovered that she had just the right sort of body for hugging. Luc wanted to throw himself into her arms and call her mama. As if she was reading his thoughts, and maybe she was, Lady Misery said,

"Children, I have a very important question for you. I want you to answer truthfully and honestly." Nova nodded nervously. "Do you know who your parents are?" That was the last question Luc had expected.

"Lady Misery, you said to forget the past. You said it was bad," Nova said. Luc felt her confusion.

"I know what I said, but now things are…different. _Try_ to remember. Anything," said Lady Misery. Luc tried. Nova shrugged.

"Sorry," Luc whispered.

"There must be a reason," Lady Misery said absently. "Maybe he wants to wait until you're older. I suppose it doesn't matter. Would you two like to have a lesson now, since we're all here? Show me what you practiced while I was gone." Luc felt himself start to panic, but reached for the lightsaber Lady Misery was offering anyway. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried as hard as he could to turn it on.

"Take deep breaths," she said. "You're too tense. You'll never be able to control anything unless you can relax—then it will come to you willingly." This was the opposite of what she had been telling them, which was to get as angry as they could and then use that to _force_ things to do what they wanted—which, she had told them, was why it was called the Force.

He still couldn't do it.

"That's all right," she said, taking the lightsaber from him.

"It is?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Of course. Learning takes time." She handed the lightsaber to Nova. "Now you try." Nova hardly had to blink, and a beam of red light shot up from the end. Lady Misery turned it off and gave it back to Luc. "Try one more time," she told him. Luc made it spark, but that was all.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Are you going to punish me?"

"Not this time," Lady Misery said gently.

"You're not?" Lady Misery shook her head and reached for her lightsaber. Luc looked around. He could _see_ the Force all around him. Why wouldn't it do what he said? _Please do this for me,_ he said silently.

_Snap-hiss._

They all stared at the humming, glowing blade.

"You did it," Nova said in a hushed voice. "You did it!" The beam of the lightsaber flickered and died. Lady Misery smiled proudly.

"Congratulations, my—Luc," she said. "Now that you have this power, you're ready to start your real training." She handed them each a small lightsaber that had been hanging on the wall behind her. Luc activated his with some difficulty. The blade was white. "These are called practice sabers. They don't have enough power to hurt you, just sting a little. Practice turning them on and off, and tomorrow I'll teach you to fight." Luc grinned in anticipation—finally, something he might be good at.

*


	3. Chapter 2

****

OK, here's the next chapter. I know this story is a little different than most, but it is the first time I've posted a story here and I'm just wondering if anybody likes it. So, if you could please please review, I would appreciate it a lot. 

CHAPTER 2

The two little boys watched the two little girls warily. The two little girls watched the boys just as warily, while the baby played her own game, oblivious, in the middle of them all. The mother of the little boys and the baby girl watched them all, a smile on her face.

Her older two were called Corrie and Jadrek. Their father was three years dead—her husband now was the only father either of them could remember. He was back home with his other family at the moment. He had left Miri and her children with his brother's wife and her two daughters. Miri's nieces, Kirinna and Kasaia, had unfortunately entered into their boy-hating stage at the same time Corrie and Jad decided they didn't like girls. Now Miri's sister-in-law had gone back to Coruscant to see her husband, leaving Miri alone with the five children—though there were others there who were only too glad to help her any way they could.

Miri picked up her youngest child, little Lei, getting her out of the line of fire as much as anything else. She took her to the window and looked up at the sky.

"Come back to me soon, Anakin," she said softly.

*

Jacen and Tenel Ka stood together. Tenel Ka, stoic as always, regarded her husband with veiled worry. He looked as if he hadn't slept for days; as far as she knew, he hadn't. She laid her hand on his shoulder.

"We will get her back, Jacen," she said in her usual calm voice. "Do not worry so much."

"I can't help it," Jacen replied. "She's my sister. My twin sister. And she's evil." He turned to face Tenel Ka. "She didn't even know me. I was face-to-face with her, and she didn't even know who I was."

"Jacen, my Jacen," Tenel Ka said softly, moving close to him. "We _will_ get her back. I promise you."

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I can feel it. Don't you trust me?" she asked, smiling her rare smile that she saved only for him and their daughters. He laughed despite his sullen mood.

"Yes, I trust you," he said, pulling her into a hug. Tenel Ka laid her head on his shoulder.

"Then stop being so hard on yourself."

"I just feel like I could have done something," Jacen said dejectedly. "I should have captured Jaina and brought her back—even if it meant hurting her, but…I couldn't."

"That is what makes you Jacen Solo. You wouldn't hurt anyone if you could help it, least of all your sister." She pulled back to meet his eyes.

"But if I had, she would be here now…" he started.

"Shh," Tenel Ka said, raising her fingers to his lips. "It is not your fault. If you had done anything, she might have hurt—even killed you. You did what was right. She would still be _wrong_, even if she had been captured. She would not be here of her own free will." Tenel Ka hugged him again and spoke in a quieter voice. "And I could not live if anything happened to you."

*

Lady Misery turned her lightsaber in a simple maneuver, showing the twins what to do. She was a little preoccupied, thinking of the person she might have been. Lord Elbakni had not seen fit yet to tell her anything. She was starting to remember a new person, a boy, with a lightsaber bloodred as her own and hair one shade lighter than black. She didn't have a clue as to who he was. There was something about him…

"Lady Misery," Luc said in a slightly whiny voice.

"What?" Misery snapped. The twins shrank back, startled after she had been so nice to them. "What is it?" she asked more patiently.

"Um…when do we get real lightsabers?" he asked hesitantly.

"When you can fight," she responded automatically.

"We can _already_ fight," Nova muttered.

"Don't take that voice with me, young lady," Misery warned. Nova rolled her eyes.

"You're not my mommy."

"Go to your room!" Misery shouted, finally losing control of her temper. "_Now!_" Both of the children ran off, leaving her to brood alone.

*

Zekk Dallinger sat with his head in his hands. He was relaxing on the bridge of the _Lightning Rod,_ enjoying the peace and quiet after the kids were finally asleep. He hadn't known what he was getting into when he had agreed to take care of Luke and Mara's three daughters for a while, so that they could help look for Jaina. Maya, Aurora, and Destiny Skywalker were enough to make a sane man want to sleep for a week. He was glad he knew them so well; he felt sorry for some of their other baby-sitters who at first hadn't been able to tell the twins apart.

Suddenly, he heard a loud _thump_ followed by a high-pitched scream and giggles. With in involuntary curse, Zekk jumped and ran to where the three girls _had_ been fast asleep. Now, Maya and Aurie were on the top bunk, giggling hysterically while Destiny was lying on the floor, tangled up in her blanket. Zekk gave the dark-haired little imp a pitying look.

"Don't tell me you fell out of bed?" She nodded. "Again?" Zekk gave the entire room a careful glance. The twins were sharing the bottom bunk while Maya slept on the top. Unfortunately, Destiny had the habit of rolling around while she slept, and she kept falling off. Although her sisters had been scared the first time, now they just thought it was funny.

Zekk grabbed her pillow and Maya's blanket and made a little bed for her on the floor. Destiny laid down on it and Zekk spread her own blanket on top of her. Then he got his own out of his cabin and gave it to Maya. He wasn't planning to actually sleep now, anyway. He had too much to think about. He was technically flying the ship, even though it was mostly up to the navicomputer. If he needed to grab a couple of hours, he could do it in the pilot's seat.

"Goodnight, girls," he said, closing the door, hopefully for the last time that night. He then returned to the bridge. Just a few minutes later, he heard feet shuffling behind him. He turned to find Maya standing there, blanket wrapped around her.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked, a serious look on her face.

"Sure," he said, patting the co-pilot's seat. Maya hopped up, her feet dangling high above the floor.

"Zekk," she said, "My little sisters are just babies. They won't even be five for another whole week. But I'm seven. I'm old enough to handle things, and I think I deserve to know the truth. So will you please tell me?"

"You're right, kid. I think you're old enough to know pretty much everything I know. That's still not very much, mind you. Still, if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them, okay?" Zekk asked. Maya gave him a sad half-smile. She was getting good at those.

"I want to know about Jaina. Where is she?" Maya asked. Zekk frowned.

"I don't know the answer to that." Maya pouted. "I really don't know! None of us do. I did get a message from Jacen, and I think he might know something. That's where we're going right now, to meet him."

"You're not taking us, are you?" Maya asked. "If you find out where Jaya is, I mean. If Jasa knows, you'll just drop me and Aurie and Des someplace out of the way, and you'll go save her yourselves. Right?"

"That was the plan," Zekk admitted. "If we find out where Jaina is, it will probably be someplace dangerous. I for one wouldn't want it on my conscience if you three kids got hurt…" _Or killed,_ his mind finished.

"But I'm not a kid," Maya said, and despite the fact that she was wrapped in a blanket and sitting in a chair miles too big for her, she managed to look very grown-up indeed. "I'm a Jedi, or I will be, and you're never too young. That's what my daddy says, anyway. The little ones, you should probably leave behind somewhere. I mean, they don't even know Jaya like you and me. She was like my mama when I was little, and she's always been there for me. I really think I should be there for her now."

"That's quite a speech," Zekk said when she stopped for breath. "You're right, of course. Let's make a deal. If I find out anything about Jaina, I'll take you with me. However, if it's something that's likely to hurt you, you have to stay behind. Deal?"

"Deal," Maya said, nodding. Then she slid down to the floor. "Well, I guess I'd better go to bed now." Zekk turned back to the controls, but looked at the girl out of the corner of his eye. The way she got out of a chair…sliding out of the side and then popping straight up…that was how Jaina stood up. It was uncanny.

"Go on if you're tired," he said, forcing his voice to sound bright. "Of course, if you want to help me fly this thing, I'd sure love the company."

"Really?" Maya asked.

"Sure," Zekk replied. The little girl clambered up into the seat beside him, and the two of them worked together, flying the ship in comfortable silence.

*

A few hours later, Zekk woke up alone on the bridge, the blanket spread on top of him clumsily but lovingly, by the hands of a certain seven-year-old. He must have been more tired than he'd thought. Zekk got up and went to check on the girls.

Maya and Aurora were together in the bottom bunk, sleeping peacefully together, Aurie's arm lying across her big sister's stomach. Destiny was on the floor, the blanket that had been underneath her now on top, and the one that had been on top somehow underneath. They all looked so little while they were sleeping, even Maya, who somehow managed to seem at least twelve when she was awake.

With a little smile, Zekk pulled the covers up over Aurie and Maya and returned to the bridge, not quite allowing himself to think about his own set of twins, out there, somewhere, who knew where.

*

Misery was quite taken aback. She had decided to pay a visit to the children at night, and she had discovered that they slept in a room that was tiny, barely big enough for them both to lie down in. There was no furniture, nothing to keep them amused, and not even a pillow to sleep on. They slept on a soft spot on the floor. This stirred up new memories in Lady Misery. For one thing, she remembered making a light by rubbing air together. She taught this trick to the children, so they would at least have a little light.

She also remembered a multitool. Not a real one, just a toy, so she must have been very young. Surely she had a real one, too. She didn't know where it might be, though. Finally, she had returned to her quarters. In the morning, she would talk to Lord Elbakni about getting them a better room.

Lady Misery had never poked around in her own quarters before. Now she did. There were not many places to poke, so she took the most obvious, under the bed. Along with a half-kilo of dust _(don't we have cleaning droids?)_ she found a little wooden box. Sitting on top of the bed, she carefully opened it. Inside, she found many things. A little book, a lightsaber, a multitool, and what looked like Jedi robes. The lightsaber was the kind with a button. She ignited it, discovering a violet blade. The multitool was different from the one she remembered, higher powered, and with sharp blades. She opened the book. It was a diary.

_I am Jaina Solo. This is my diary, my thoughts and feelings. This is the truth. I love Zekk, but we have drifted too far apart to ever get back. Kanyen…Do I love Kanyen? I don't think so. I like him, but love? Not yet. Luc seems to like him, but Kanyen has told him…something. I don't know what, but Luc acts different around me now. Nova does not like Kanyen at all. She always has been the stubborn type. (She gets it from Zekk—you will never convince me otherwise!)_

Just then, Misery felt Lord Elbakni's call. She hastily threw everything back into the box and shoved it back under her bed. She took the turbolift to Lord Elbakni's office. Was he ever in his quarters? Misery had never seen him there. When she got to his office, she paused for a moment to compose herself, then walked in, saluting.

"May the Empire live forever."

Lord Elbakni saluted quickly and then walked to her side.

"Accompany me to the hangar bay, Lady Misery," he said. As they walked, Lord Elbakni spoke. "My Lady of Darkness, there is a new, urgent mission for you. The children of the Solo and Skywalker family must be captured, now. We must use them as bait for their parents, since your earlier mission failed," he said, giving Misery a significant look. "After you capture them, we will, of course, enlist them into our ranks. Five of the children are on the world called Dathomir. Get them first; they are the ones that we want most for our side. The other three are in the ship _Lightning Rod._ They are Luke Skywalker's children, and therefore very important as bait, but since they are too old for our plans, you may kill them once they are here."

"Yes, Master," Misery said, but inside she was wondering if any of these children were hers as she now believed Luc and Nova must be. Then they arrived at the docking bay.

"Lady Misery," Lord Elbakni said in a low voice. "Do not fail me again…"

*

Maya was stuck with the job of baby-sitting while Zekk used a comm to talk to Jacen from outside. It wouldn't have been so bad if her sisters would just do what she told them.

"Aurora Jade Skywalker, get down!" Maya shouted. Standing on top of the pilot's seat, Aurora just laughed. "Destiny, don't you dare!" Destiny scrambled up onto the co-pilot's seat and stuck out her lip defiantly. "Destiny!"

"Maya," Aurora retorted.

"Maya, Maya, Maya Jain, has a saber in her brain," the twins sang together. Maya sat down on the floor, despairing. Suddenly, she had an inspiration. Using the Force, she touched the minds of her little sisters to create an image of a very angry Zekk moving in on them. With a shriek, the twins jumped to the floor. Maya laughed, while her sisters gave her angry glares.

"I'll do that again, too," Maya warned when she was done laughing. "Every time you're bad, and you won't know which one's really Zekk."

"I wasn't scared," Destiny said with a sniff.

"Yeah, right," Maya replied. Just go sit somewhere, and I'll make you some lunch." The twins walked off sullenly, but at least they did it.

"Nicely handled," a voice said behind Maya when they were gone. She yelped and jumped two feet in the air. "It's just me," Zekk said.

"I didn't hear you," Maya said sheepishly. She knew the twins didn't have the power to create an image that actually talked, so this was definitely the real Zekk, not a trick to get back at her. "What did Jasa say?" Zekk bit his lip. "Hey! You promised you'd tell me everything!"

"All right, kid, don't blow a fuse."

"What am I, a droid?"

"Never mind," Zekk told her. "There's good news and bad news. Good news is, Jaina's alive."

"Yay! I knew Jaya would be—"

"Bad news is, she's turned."

"—okay. Jaya's not evil."

"No, but Misery, Bringer of Darkness, is. That's who Jaina thinks she is now. She shot Anakin and your uncle. They're okay, but she escaped." Maya stood with her mouth hanging open. It was so hard to connect this evil father-and-brother shooter with the special, sweet cousin she'd always been so close to. She felt tears start to come to her eyes. _Don't cry in front of people,_ her mind told her. She ran off to the room she and her sisters were sharing and jumped onto the top bunk, where she buried her face in her pillow and sobbed. For once, Aurie and Des knew enough to leave her alone.

*

Miri was just putting the kids down for a nap when she spotted a TIE fighter landing just outside the village that was Tenel Ka's home on Dathomir. Not that many years ago, Miri had never even seen a ship. Now she could identify different kinds from a distance.

Miri left the children and went outside to see who was in the TIE. She knew that it was traditionally an Imperial vessel, but these days non-Imps flew them as well. Wishing that she was a Jedi, Miri walked closer to the TIE. It opened, and someone stepped out, the last person Miri had ever expected to see: the missing Jaina Solo.

"What are you doing here?" Miri cried. Jaina said something that almost sounded like Miri's name, although she couldn't quite hear it over the wind. Then Miri was blasted back.

*

Misery stood on top of her TIE fighter. The only person sent out to meet her was, she assumed, a warrior of the Clan. The black-haired young woman was dressed in sky-blue lizard skins. Misery was surprised to find that she was not Force-trained or even Force-adept. _Odd, most women on Dathomir are…No matter._

"Stand aside, Dathomiri," she called. When the woman didn't move, Misery used a Force-shove to throw her back. Then she jumped to the ground. The woman was either unconscious or dead. Misery didn't waste the energy to check. Instead she searched for the five children. She found them quickly and went to get them.

Inside one of the houses, she found three small girls sleeping peacefully, and two boys wide awake, staring.

"Who're you?" one asked. He looked about three.

"I'm here to take you home," Misery said kindly. "Your father is waiting for you."

"Where's Mama?" the other boy, who was a little younger, asked.

"She's waiting for you too, of course," Misery told him.

"I'm Corrie, and that's Jad," the older boy said. "And that's Lei, and those are my cousins," he said, sweeping out his arm to include the sleeping girls. "Does Dad really want us to come back to Yavin 4? Is Mom on your ship? Where is your ship? What kind is it?"

"Come with me, and I'll show you," Misery said.

"I want to say bye to my friends first."

"We need to go now, before your father decides to get someone else to help him," Misery said impatiently.

"You Aunt Jaya," little Jadrek said softly.

"Hey, you do look like Aunt Jaina," Corrie said in surprise.

"Come on, you two. We have to hurry," Misery said.

"What about the girls?" Corrie asked.

"They're coming, too."

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Hey, you guys. Wake up." He shook the two girls awake. Misery noticed that one resembled Jacen Solo, while the other looked like someone else, but she couldn't quite remember who.

"What's going on?" the red-haired one asked.

"We're going home now," Corrie told her.

"'Kay," she said with a shrug. Misery picked up the baby girl, who was still sleeping.

"Let's go, children," she said. She led the way back to her ship. Surprisingly, she wasn't questioned by any of the warrior women—in fact, she only saw a very few of them, who all seemed to be otherwise occupied. _All these witches have grown weak. A generation ago, I would never have gotten past that first one._ Misery led the children around the spot where the fallen warrior lay. She knew they would only ask questions, and the longer she stayed, the more chance she had of getting caught.

"Hey, that's a TIE fighter," the older of the girls said. Her eyes were the colour of Corellia's famous brandy, and her sister's hair was curly and light brown. It was easy to see that they were both related to Jacen.

"That's right," Misery told her. "Don't worry, it's been modified a bit. There's plenty of room for us all."

"That's not the problem," the little girl said, but she got in along with the other children. Misery was about to get in when she felt someone coming behind. She turned to find three Dathomiri running out to meet her, hands raised and glowing faintly.

"Blast it," Misery whispered. The women were about to attack when they saw that Misery was holding the baby. They wouldn't attack. _Foolish, but good for me._ Misery used the Force to levitate herself up, still facing the witches. One of them reached up to her with a tentative lightning attack. Holding the child with her right hand, Misery deflected the lightning so that it enveloped the three on the ground, magnified just a bit by her own strength. They would wake up in a few hours with terrible headaches and perhaps minor burns.

She floated up into the cockpit. As she prepared for the flight back to Lord Elbakni's star destroyer, she gave each of the kids a piece of candy. Once they ate it, they shouldn't wake up for a day or so. If there was trouble, she had enough to last them all a week.

*

"I talked to Zekk," Jacen said to his younger brother.

"What did he think?" Anakin asked. Now that he'd had a few days to heal, he could walk around some, but he still had to sit and rest more than he felt was necessary.

"He was naturally upset, but I guess he took it pretty well," Jacen replied.

"That's good," Anakin said thoughtfully. "Do you think he'll want to come with us?"

"Come with us?" Jacen repeated.

"We're going to rescue her, aren't we?"

Jacen sighed. "I guess he would want to come. Shouldn't we say something to Mom? Or maybe Uncle Luke. He's definitely noticed something's wrong. Pretty soon, he'll figure it out anyway. We might as well tell him and save trouble all around."

"I don't want to give Mom and Dad that kind of stress. I mean, they already think she's dead. Why make it worse?"

"What do you mean?" Jacen asked.

"Can you image what would happen if we went 'Hi, Mom. Your daughter isn't dead after all. It turns out that she just changed her name to Misery and tried to kill us all. Remember that chick with the blaster? Well, we're going off on a crusade now to save her, and we'll probably never come back. See ya!"

"Good point," Jacen agreed. "We are coming back, though. And so is Jaina."

"Then let's go," Anakin said sensibly. "But we can't tell anybody, or they'll try to stop us."

"Fine," Jacen said, grinning in spite of himself. "Let's just go. And soon."

*

Aurora and Destiny were asleep for the "night," but again, Maya was wide awake. Once again, she went to join Zekk on the bridge. It was now becoming a habit. Every time she felt worried, couldn't sleep, or just wanted to get away from her little sisters, Maya flew. Not that there was much to do in hyperspace. At least she could look at the pretty colors, and enjoy Zekk's grown-up, mature company.

"What's on your mind, Rusty?" he asked as she slid into the co-pilot's seat. Rusty, of course, was for her rust-red hair.

"I just couldn't sleep," she said.

"I know how you feel, kid," Zekk said. He reached out to touch the sleeve of her long yellow t-shirt. "Say, do you know where that shirt came from?"

"Sure. It was Jaya's. She gave it to me a long time ago," Maya replied.

"That's right," Zekk told her. "Before that, it was mine. I gave it to her just after she was Knighted. She was going back to her room, and it started raining. You know the way it does on Yavin 4, sudden and hard. Jaina got soaked, and since my room was a lot closer than hers was, she changed clothes there. That was the only thing I had that fit her, and somehow she never got around to giving it back."

"Then why do I have it?" Maya asked, noticing how different Zekk's voice sounded when he mentioned Jaina, but wanting to pursue the subject anyway.

"Do you remember when you were living with Jaina on the _Belin_? You lived there from when you were a baby to when you were about two," Zekk said. Maya nodded. "There were two reasons for that. One was because your mom was so sick, and your dad was so busy taking care of her. But the other reason is that if a Jedi has any contact with the Dark Side as a baby or a toddler, she could be warped for life. So you were sheltered from other, potentially harmful, people. Jaina did the same thing with our kids, Luc and Nova. We were especially worried about them, so even I almost never got to see them."

"Why were you so worried?" Maya asked.

"Um…never mind. It's not important. The point is, the third year of our marriage was our first year living together. They say that's the toughest. We had a pretty serious fight, and Jaina took off for a while. She took the kids with her. I tried after a while to get her to come back, but I guess I didn't say the right things. Her reply message was a bonfire made of everything she had that belonged to me. She even burned our marriage document. The only thing she didn't burn was that shirt you've got on. She sent it to you because she knew yellow is your favourite colour. The next thing I knew, I was single and she had a boyfriend. Then the four of them disappeared without a trace." They were silent for a moment.

"Zekk?" Maya asked finally. "What was your fight about?"

"Another time, Rusty," Zekk said. "We're about to come out of hyperspace. Get ready for…Alderaan."

Maya leaned forward in the seat, eager to get a look at the asteroid field that had been her Aunt Leia's home planet. Instead, a ship appeared, right before her eyes. Maya knew what it was. Jaina had taught her its name.

It was a TIE fighter.

Almost before this fact sank in, Maya was nearly blinded by a flash of green light, then almost knocked from her seat as the ship shook wildly. The TIE was shooting at them!

"Check on your sisters!" Zekk snapped, raising the shields. Without a word, Maya ran off.

*

Lady Misery waited patiently for the _Lightning Rod_ to appear. Through a combination of the Force and careful calculations, she had pinpointed exactly where the ship would appear. She targeted the engines, wanting to cripple, not destroy. Surely Master Elbakni wouldn't mind if these children were destroyed right off, though. They were merely a secondary mission for her. Extras.

When the ship came out of hyperspace, Lady Misery instantly hit the firing button. Her aim was true. Although it didn't cause much damage, a few more good hits and Luke Skywalker's children would be hers for the taking.

But then, Misery got a good look at the ship. _I don't want to do this,_ she thought in a panic. As the larger ship returned fire, Misery took the defensive stance. As she jerked to avoid one of the larger chunks of Alderaan, she shot at the _Lightning Rod,_ aiming for the other ship's lasers. Unfortunately, she was pointed straight at it, and it was pointed straight at her. And they were both shooting. And a very important rule was: Don't Cross The Beams.

The beams hit each other head-on. The resulting shock sent Misery's little TIE fighter screaming back toward an asteroid.

_It's heavy. What is it, a rock?_ The memory returned to her mind with crystal clarity as she slammed into the chunk of rock. The _Lightning Rod_ filled her vision.

_Zekk…_ was the last thought in her mind before the TIE fighter that Lady Misery was in exploded.

*

"Jaina…" Zekk whispered, staring at the place where the TIE should have been. If he had turned, he would have seen Maya staring at him, her green eyes wide and accusing. But Zekk didn't turn. His gaze remained locked on the spot where he knew his closest friend and lover had been just moments before. "Jaina…no…"

*


	4. Chapter 3

****

See prologue for disclaimer.

Well, here's the next installment for anyone who is interested. I hope everyone likes the story so far. Please review. Any comments would be a great help. 

CHAPTER 3

Jacen and Anakin had both decided that it was time to go. It was time to get Jaina back. Jacen, Anakin, and Tenel Ka would all go together on the _Rock Dragon_.

"Okay," Jacen said. "Just let me check my messages, and we can leave. Is everything clear with the folks?" Tenel Ka showed him the note she had written to Han, Leia, Luke and Mara, which very reassuringly said nothing at all relevant, without exactly lying either—it showed her Hapan breeding as few things did. The brothers quickly signed their names at the bottom.

Anakin flagged down a passing messenger droid and instructed it to deliver the flimsy to his mother, while Jacen downloaded his unheard messages from his comlink to his datapad, where he could read them as text on the way. After a second, a message flashed at him:

_Message Complete_

And then:

_You have three new messages:_

1.Lightning_Rod—Zekk==="Sorry"

2.Dathomir—Miri_Solo==="Jacen_I_have_been_"

3.2122100thx1138303—(none)===DEFAULTMESSAGE/LOC

Curious, Jacen got onto the ship and buckled in, then began to read the first message, the one from Zekk.

__

Sorry. I'm sorry, Jacen. Sithspit, I'm so sorry. I wish I could change things. If I could change one thing it would be this most definitely. Jacen, I wonder if you can ever forgive me. I've killed Jaina. I know it. It was in the Alderaan field and a TIE was there…waiting for us. I tried to just cripple the ship but it was knocked back into an asteroid. I felt Jaina, just at the last second…and then it exploded. I'm sorry, Jacen. She's dead. I think Maya knows too, although I haven't told the girls anything. Maybe she felt it too, I don't know. Please don't hate me; I didn't want this to happen. God, I didn't. We will be coming back to Coruscant soon. You can kill me if you want.end

Jacen stared at the message for a while, then read it again. "Call it off," he said to his brother and his wife. "We're not going after all. Jaina really is dead this time."

Giving him a look filled with confusion, Tenel Ka cut off the engines. "What?" she said in a voice even more emotionless than usual. "What are you talking about, my Jacen?" Wordlessly, he handed the datapad over for the others to read.

"Zekk," Anakin whispered. "Son of a—I hope he's serious about that last part, because I sure am going to kill him when he gets back here." Tenel Ka laid her hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Perhaps you should read it again," she said gently. "Zekk is truly hurting. You know quite well how much he loved your sister. He would never have caused this. Zekk is not to blame."

"I'll blame whoever I damn well please," Anakin informed her. "Hey, there's a message from Miri. At least I know she's still alive." His voice dripped with bitterness. Numbly, Jacen took back his datapad and accessed the message from his sister-in-law.

__

Jacen, I have been trying for two days to reach Anakin. If I know him, he's lost his comlink or forgotten to turn it on. You must come to Dathomir quickly. Something awful has happened. Jaina came here in a TIE fighter. She knocked me out, along with three Clanswomen. She took the children—Corrie, Jad, Lei, Kiri and Kassy. She didn't know me when I spoke to her. What is going on, Jacen? I'm so scared. What if something happened? What if the children are hurt? I don't think Jaina would hurt them, but I didn't think she would try to kill three witches and me. How did she get here? Where has she been? Please come soon.end

"They couldn't have been in the TIE with her, could they?" Tenel Ka asked, her worry for her daughters, nephews, and niece showing.

"No!" Anakin said forcefully. "She dropped them somewhere. We just have to figure out where. Let's go." Everyone strapped in, and the _Rock Dragon_ rose into the air. It was a long time before Jacen remembered the third message.

*

What's wrong, Maya?" Destiny asked.

"I'm just sad," Maya replied.

"Need a hug?" Aurora asked. Tears misting in the corners of her eyes, she nodded.

"Blow your nose," Destiny suggested, holding out a tissue. With a little laugh, Maya took it. She made a big show out of blowing her nose, much to the twins' amusement. Then she just sat there, with both of her little sisters sitting on her lap.

"Do you guys want to hear a story?" Maya asked.

"Yeah!" they said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Well, this is about a lady named Jaya. Jaya was the most wonderful person you could ever meet, and she was the best pilot in the whole galaxy, plus she was a Jedi Knight. Jaya went on many adventures along with her friends, and fought bad people starting when she was only a little older than you…"

*

Nova heard Lord Elbow-head's voice come on over the comm that went all over the ship.

"Lady Nova, to my office."

Why didn't he call in her head? And why did he call her Lady? Nova got up and trotted down to Lord Elbow-head's office. She had been alone anyway, since Luc was somewhere playing with his practice saber.

When she got in the door, she saluted and said, "Long live the Empire," just like she was supposed to.

"Nova, something unexpected has happened," he told her, getting right to the point. "Lady Misery's TIE fighter has gone offline. She won't be coming back to us. You now hold her position, though you won't have all of her duties until you're a bit older. You'll have to step up your training a bit. No more waiting for your little twin. And it's time I told you something of your history. Speak of this to no one, not even Luc. Some of it he already knows; the rest he must not learn until after my death."

"Yes, sir," Nova said, unable to imagine Lord Elbakni dead.

"Nova, you are my daughter. Only you, myself, and your brother now know this, and I doubt that Luc remembers. Two great bloodlines converge in the two of you. Your mother was the granddaughter of Darth Vader, the great and feared Dark Knight of the Sith. I, your father, carry an even greater pedigree—I am the son of the seventh clone of Darth Sidious. Do you know what that means?" She didn't. "Nova, you carry the blood of the Emperor himself."

* 

On Alderaan-A, the largest of the Alderaan asteroids, two young women were supervising the mining droids. Although there was enough atmosphere for sound to carry, it was hard to be understood through breathmasks, so both women were also wearing microphones and speakers so that they could still talk.

"Do you see something out there, Anja?" the blond woman asked.

"Where?" asked the other, her dark- honey-streaked hair floating out behind her in the low gravity as she turned.

"There," the first insisted, pointing.

"Tahiri, you've been out here too long. I think you're imagining things, farm girl." She was teasing, of course. She knew perfectly well that a Jedi did not imagine things. "There is something out there," she remarked in surprise as she saw some light glint off something metallic. "Wonder what it is?"

"There's someone alive in there," Tahiri told her. Anja didn't question. She just got into the retrieval vessel they had on hand in case something managed to escape the tiny gravity well of AA. Coming closer, she could see that it was a rectangular box, big enough for a person to fit inside. She shivered. It reminded her of a coffin.

Using the retriever's metal claw, Anja towed the thing back to AA. Then she and Tahiri took a good look at it.

"Quantum armour," Tahiri said, tapping on the box. "Whoever this is was either paranoid or desperate. Whoever it is, they're still alive. Probably in suspended animation of some kind. Let's get this thing inside and see if we can get it opened up." The two of them took the box to the medical station.

"I don't see any controls," Anja remarked.

"They must be inside," Tahiri said.

"That wouldn't do any good," Anja protested. Tahiri lifted her hand.

"I'm going to look." Anja was skeptical, but nevertheless, a few seconds later, a crack appeared, then part of the box lifted off. They could see the inside of a cockpit. It looked like a TIE, but it was badly damaged, and hard to tell. A small brown-haired woman, dressed entirely in black, lay unconscious inside. At first, Anja didn't recognise her. Then she opened her eyes, the colour of Corellian brandy.

Jaina Solo.

*

Lady Misery opened her eyes, and two women swam into focus.

"I r'member you," she murmured, her words slurring.

**"JAINA?"** one of the women said, too loud. The word echoed. She waved her hand in front of Misery's face. **"HOW MANY FINGERS AM I HOLDING UP?"** It moved to fast for Misery to count. It looked like a lot. She wondered if that was good or bad.

**"I THINK SHE HAS HEAD INJURIES,"** the blond girl said.

*

"Jaina, does your head hurt?" Anja asked, but Jaina was already unconscious again.

"How do you know her?" Tahiri asked.

"I trained with her and her brother on Yavin 4 about…Nine years ago, I guess," Anja replied.

"I didn't know that," Tahiri said. "Her little brother is my best friend."

"No kidding? I guess we've got something in common. Besides our boss, that is."

Tahiri smiled. "The Force works in mysterious ways. Now, let's check her for a concussion first. Didn't I hear on the news that she was missing?"

*

Zekk put in the landing codes for Coruscant and went to wake up the girls. Maya was on the top bunk, curled up in a ball. The twins had both managed to stay on the bottom, though she floor had claimed their blanket and they hugged each other for warmth. _They're so peaceful when they're sleeping. Too bad they're not like that when they're awake._ He tried to push away the memories of his kids sleeping in that bed.

"Maya, wake up," he said, tickling her feet. He jerked back as she kicked at him. "Maya!" She opened her eyes.

"Leave me alone!" she said, realizing who he was. She turned to face the wall.

"We're landing on Coruscant in a few minutes," he said, ignoring her harshness. "Wake your sisters." He turned and left the room.

*

Luc knocked very timidly on the door to Lord Elbakni's office, certain he would die the moment his Master opened the door.

He didn't.

"What is it, Luc?" Lord Elbakni asked, stepping back to let the boy into the room. Luc felt himself shaking and tried to hold still. Nova wouldn't be shaking. She would be brave. He remembered what Lady Misery had taught him, and said to the Force around him, _Please make me brave._ It helped a little.

"Lord Elbakani, sir," he said, "my sister told me that Lady Misery is gone."

"Did she tell you anything else?" Lord Elbakni asked, looking angry for just a second and then going still again.

"No, sir," Luc said. He tried to remember what Nova had told him. "I just wanted to ask you, sir, where did she go?"

*

"Let me out, let me out, let me OUT!" Kirinna screamed, banging on the wall. She was still in this stupid cell, and she hated it, and she hated the Empire, and she especially, _especially_ hated Master El-butt-head. "Let me out of this room right now or I'll get really mad!" To her surprise, the door opened. A little girl about her own age was standing there.

"Shhh," said the other girl. "I'm Nova. Are you one of the ones Lady Misery brought back?"

"Lady who?" Kirinna asked, wondering if she could get past the other girl and get away. Maybe she could, but she didn't know where to go after that.

"Lady Misery; she was my teacher." Nova paused, thinking. "Are you a…Skywalker?"

"I'm Kirinna Djo-Solo," she said. "My Uncle Luke's last name is Skywalker."

"Good enough," Nova said. "Who else came with you?"

*

"Thank you, Lord Elbakani," Luc said. He hadn't learned anything he didn't know before…but he thought Nova must be ready by now. "I'm going to practice with Nova now."

After Luc left the office, he wandered along on a path that would take him to the hangar bay.

*

"Is this _everybody_?" Nova asked, wanting to be sure. There were six–Kirinna, Kassy, Lei, Jad, Corrie, and herself. Counting Luc, that made seven. The TIE fighters, which were the only ships in the hangar, were just big enough to fit them all.

"It's everybody," Kirinna confirmed. Corrie was trying without luck to program the navicomputer. "Don't you know how to work that?"

"Of course," he lied.

"If you want help, my mommy told me how to make it take me to Dathomir," Kirinna supplied.

"Do it, Kirinna," Nova said, seeing that Corrie was about to decline. They didn't have much time.

Luc was coming; she saw him in the doorway.

"Are we ready?" he asked, running the rest of the way to her. Nova nodded and helped him climb up into the cockpit with the others. Luc reached down to help his sister up, then froze.

"So." Nova whirled around. Lord Elbakni was there behind her. He must have followed Luc. Lord Elbakni grabbed Nova's shoulders, making her cry out in pain. "You children seem to think you're leaving. Why?"

"Because we don't like you, Lord Elbow-head," Nova said, drawing a gasp from the other children.

"You misunderstand me," he said, lifting her off the ground and tucking her under one arm, where she quickly found that no amount of struggling would make him let go. "Whatever gave you the idea that I would let you leave?"

Inside the cockpit of the TIE, Corrie's attention was drawn by a red button. He poked Kirinna, drew her gaze to the button, then glanced at Luc. She nodded slightly.

"What gave you the idea that you could stop us?" Corrie asked, and he hit the red button at the same time Kirinna pulled Luc inside the cockpit, which then sealed itself around them.

"What are you doing?" Luc shouted, pressing himself against the transparisteel to see Nova, still in Lord Elbakni's grip. He could still see her when the TIE began to move.

Lord Elbakni threw Nova to the floor, raising up his hands, and the TIE fighter slowed and then stopped. Nova stood up, turned on her practice saber, and hit Lord Elbakni in the knee with it. He was distracted just long enough for the TIE fighter to slip out of his Force-grip and pull away from the star destroyer. The last thing Luc saw was Nova, running away from Lord Elbakni, before they went into hyperspace.

*

Mara Jade Skywalker was meditating in her room when she heard a noise in the other room. Getting up to investigate, she opened the door to a sight she hadn't seen in too long.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Three little girls were all jumping up and down, scrambling for Luke's attention.

"My girls!" Mara cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Zekk brought us," Aurie said, stating the obvious. "He had to talk to Jasa."

"Jacen isn't here," Mara said gently. "Maybe you heard wrong."

"We didn't hear wrong," Maya informed her mother. "Zekk said _Jacen._ We all heard him. Anyway, we didn't know he wasn't here till now."

"Watch your tone," Luke said gently, but Maya knew he was serious. Being attention-grabbing almost-five-year-olds, the twins both ran over to Mara and started pulling on her sleeves.

"Mommy, Des fell off the bed _again_," Aurie said in her tattletale voice.

"It wasn't my fault," Destiny protested.

"Well, you still did it," Aurora said.

"Hush, Aurora, she didn't mean to," Mara said, kneeling to give her children hugs.

"Hey, Mommy, know what tomorrow it?" Destiny asked.

"No, honey, what's tomorrow?" Mara asked in mock bewilderment.

"_Mommy!_" Aurie exclaimed. Mara glanced up at Luke with a smile.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?" she asked him.

"No, I have no idea," he said, trying not to laugh.

_"DADDY!"_ Destiny shrieked. Maya glared at them all.

"Don't you know anything? It's their birthday, duh! It's not like they let anybody forget it. Some parents you are!"

"It was a joke, honey," Luke said.

"Oh yeah, great joke. See me laughing?" Maya retorted.

"Maya Jain, don't get smart," Mara reprimanded.

"What do you want me to get? Stupid?" she asked sarcastically.

"Young lady, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing! Leave me alone!" Maya stomped angrily out the door.

"Where are you going?" Mara called.

"Nowhere!"

*

Anakin was thinking about Miri. They were almost to Dathomir now. He hoped she was okay. And the kids…wherever they were. He was so confused. He didn't even know who he was mad at anymore. Just that he was, very mad. Jacen and Tenel Ka had sensed this and mostly left him alone on the trip. Somehow, that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted someone to push him, so he would have a reason to let go.

"Threepio's never around when you need him," he muttered.

"What?" Jacen asked. Anakin shook his head.

"Nothing."

"We are about to enter realspace," Tenel Ka informed them. Anakin looked out the viewport just as the planet appeared. He felt Miri, and for the first time in quite a while, he realised just how much he had missed her. Then, he felt something else. He wasn't quite sure, but it felt familiar. In the pilot seat, Tenel Ka was sitting stiffly, staring at Dathomir. Anakin guessed she must have been homesick. He always felt strange when he returned to Yavin 4 or Coruscant after a long time away. Jacen was staring off into space. He almost looked like he did whenever he was trying to get an animal to come to him.

After a second, the three of them seemed to shake themselves awake, and the _Rock Dragon_ began to descend into the atmosphere.

*

Miri stood on the planet, looking up. She had not felt Anakin the instant they were in the same system, as he had, but she still knew he was there. He was coming. She needed him to be there, and make things all right.

Since Tenel Ka was the Princess-Regent of Dathomir, and Miri and her children were family, they had been welcomed by the Singing Falls Clan. Miri felt that it was partly her fault that three of the Clanswomen had been so badly injured. After all, if she and her little ones had just stayed at the Academy, or gone with Anakin to Coruscant, it might not have happened. And maybe she could have helped Jaina. She had already gotten the news that her sister-in-law was dead. She just knew something else was going to happen soon.

As the _Rock Dragon_ landed, Miri raced out to meet it. She was stopped by a Clan-sister by the name of Kaight.

"Sister Miri," she said, addressing Miri in the way that said that something urgent was going on. "The princess is on her way. We have sensed it."

"I know," Miri told her. "She's here already. There's the _Rock Dragon._"

"No," Kaight said with a shake of her head. "The other princess. The heir, Kirinna. And Kasaia, the heir to Hapes. Possibly your children as well; there are more than two, but we cannot recognise them."

Just as Jacen, Anakin, and Tenel Ka emerged from the ship, Miri gave a whoop and, seeing them, ran to Anakin, jumped into his arms, grabbed his head and pulled it close to hers for a long kiss that left them both panting.

"I missed you too," Anakin said, confused at her unusual display of affection, but not complaining.

"Anakin, the kids are back!" she cried. "All of them," she said, turning to Jacen and Tenel Ka. "Well, they only know that Kassy and Kiri are here, but the others might be too!"

"Where are they?" Tenel Ka asked breathlessly, dropping her usual calm at the excitement of having her daughters back before she actually had a chance to see them missing.

"They are coming in a ship," Kaight said, catching up to them. "That is all we know."

"How would they know how to get here?" Jacen wondered. "None of them can actually fly, can they?"

"They don't need to fly if they know the coordinates. All they had to do was put them into the navicomputer," Tenel Ka replied.

"Where would they get the coordinates?" Anakin asked. Tenel Ka didn't answer.

"There is only one problem. I am not certain that they can land a ship. That is more difficult than putting numbers in a computer," she said instead.

"That's not a problem," Anakin said. "We can bring the ship in from down here, using the Force."

"Can you do that?" Miri wondered. "I mean, you can lift rocks, but a ship?"

"Size matters not," Anakin quoted. "We just have to figure out where it's coming from."

"We already know," Kaight told him, guiding their minds to the spot where the children's presence was strongest. To the Dathomiri, only the two princesses stood out, but Anakin felt them all: Corrie, Jadrek, Lei, Kirinna, Kasaia, and one other. It was just a minute before even Miri could see the glint in the sky. She could tell it was coming down way too fast.

Jacen, Anakin, Tenel Ka, and Kaight joined hands to form a circle. Kaight began to whisper a spell while the others simply reached up. Wishing again that she was a Jedi, Miri prayed.

*

When they came out of hyperspace, Corrie was very surprised to see Dathomir. Maybe Kirinna was smarter than he thought.

"Aren't we going kind of fast?" Luc asked. Corrie looked out the window. He was right.

"Okay, Kirinna, you know how to land this thing, right?" he said nervously.

"Ummm…" she said.

"Oh, no. We're about to die, aren't we?" The TIE ship hit the air and started bouncing around. Corrie held onto Lei so she wouldn't get hurt. They all screamed at the top of their lungs. All of a sudden, there was a big loud crunch, and they stopped bouncing. Corrie looked out the window. They were still above the ground, but they were going down slower.

"Did you fix it?" Luc asked.

"Not me," Corrie said.

"Me either," Kirinna added. Lei, Kassy, and Jad were all crying still. Corrie wondered what was going on. They were almost on the ground now. He could see people. He saw his mom and dad, Uncle Jacen, Tenel Ka, and one of the witch ladies.

"They're the ones that fixed it!" he yelled. Luc and Kirinna looked out the window.

"Mommy!" Kirinna cried.

"Are those your parents?" Luc asked. With a huge grin, Corrie nodded. Things were going to be all right now.

*

"Why are they in a TIE fighter?" Miri was the first to ask.

"Does it really matter?" Anakin asked as it settled down gently on the ground. After a minute (it must have taken them a while to figure out how to get the door open) all the kids came out. First Kirinna ran to Tenel Ka, followed by Kassy, who ran to Jacen. Then Jad came, and Corrie, who was carrying Lei. Miri scooped them up in a big hug. Anakin darted back and forth from his daughter and sons to his nieces. After a moment, though, he realised that another little boy was standing there too, hanging back shyly.

Hair just a shade lighter than black, and his mother's brandy-brown eyes. Anakin was the first to recognise his sister's little boy. Gradually, the others did as well.

"Luc?" Jacen asked in a shocked voice. Solemnly, the boy nodded. "Is Nova here, too?" Biting his lip, Luc slowly shook his head. "Where is she?" Jacen's voice was overly calm and patient.

"Nova is on the star destroyer with Lord Elbakani," Luc said, the first words they had heard from him. "I want you to go save her now." Anakin wasn't sure if he liked the way his nephew left no room for argument. _He's four,_ he reminded himself. _Four-year-olds ask, not order._

"Where is the star destroyer?" Miri asked. All the kids looked blank.

"Can't you look on the computer thing in the ship?" Corrie suggested.

"That's my smart boy," Miri said, patting him on the head. "I'll take the kids back to the village. They're probably going to need to rest for a while. You guys find out where that TIE came from, if you can."

"I will help you," Tenel Ka said, picking up her younger daughter. Miri, of course, carried Lei, who wasn't walking yet. Kirinna, Corrie and Jad all followed behind them. Luc hesitated a moment before he followed, too.

*

Lady Misery opened her eyes again to find that she no longer had a headache. She was looking through liquid. Bacta, she realised after a minute. _What happened?_ The bacta drained out of the tank, and she was lifted out.

"You don't know how lucky you are that we found you," said a man that she might have seen before, somewhere. He handed her some clothes, then turned away respectfully while she changed from the tank-bandages. The clothes weren't hers, but they would do.

"What happened?" she asked, voicing the only thing she had been thinking since she woke up.

"That's what we'd like to know," the man said, turning around once she was dressed. "First you disappear into thin air, then, weeks later, Anja and Tahiri find you floating in the Alderaan field, in a quantum armoured TIE cockpit. I mean, quantum armour, Jaina? Where did you get that? And why just the cockpit? And while we're at it, why a TIE?"

"Not this Jaina business again," Misery said. "Who are you, anyway?" The man stared at her a long time before he said,

"I'm going to call your family and tell them you're all right. I'll be right back."

"Wait!" Misery cried. "Um, call my brother. Jacen. Just—just Jacen. Okay?"

"Okay, kid, sure," Lando _(Is that his name then?)_ told her.

*

Maya wanted to bring Jaya back.

But that was impossible, so she would do the next best thing.

She would get revenge. She would make sure she was in the right place when the person responsible showed up.

Not Zekk; he was really just protecting himself, the twins, and her. She was still mad at him though. No, she would get the person who took Jaina and made her bad. She would get that person if it was the last thing she ever did. She even had a plan.

She knew that she could never, ever let anyone get away with doing something so horrible, twisted, and mean.

Especially to Jaya.

*

Jacen checked his comlink for messages.

"Your comlink has been set to: auto-text mode," it informed him. No wonder he hadn't been getting anything. He opened his datapad.

_You have two new messages and one old message._

_1.Lightning_Rod—-Zekk==="Jacen_this_is_Zekk"_

2.Alderaan_Field—Lando_Calrissian==="Jacen_do_you_know_"

~old message~

3.2122100thx1138303—(none)===DEFAULTMESSAGE/LOC

Jacen barely skimmed the first message.

__

Jacen, this is Zekk. I'm coming to Dathomir. Will you please not leave it just yet? I really want to talk to you. Oh, got to go.end

He was quite a bit more interested in the second one.

__

Jacen, do you know where your sister is? I'll spare you the suspense and tell you. She's here. We found her floating out in the field. We think she's amnesiac. Call me and tell me where you are and I'll come and drop her off. I'll bring Anja and Tahiri, too. I think they can handle a day off work. Call me.end

Jacen dropped the datapad. Then, resisting the urge to run screaming out of the _Rock Dragon,_ he accessed the third message. At first, he didn't pay much attention. Then the fourth word caught his eye, and he read it again. Twice.

__

Jacen, this is Jaina. I'm sending this message specifically to you, but it's really for everybody. I don't know how much I can say before I get caught, so I'll make this brief. Kanyen is insane. I'm afraid he will kill me and the children. I wish I had never left Zekk. Tell him that I love him. My diary is here on Kanyen's star destroyer. If I don't get out of this, read it. Especially the last page. There is something very important there. I have messed with someone's mind here on the ship. I don't know who it is but tomorrow I may owe my life and the children's to his weak mind. Through him, I have modified one of the TIE fighters here. The cockpit is now protected by quantum armour, and you wouldn't believe how hard that was to make. Tomorrow I will take the children out in it. Kanyen will try to shoot us down, and he'll think we're dead but we won't be. You will have to come and pick us up. I might only be able to get the twins out there. If that is the case then Jacen, I want you to know I love you all so much...Jacen, follow the coordinates that are transmitted with this message. I have to go.

****

Who are you talking to in there?

Please help me, Jacen.end

*


	5. Chapter 4

****

See disclaimer in prologue.

AN: Hey guys, here's the next installment. I hope there are actually some people out there who are reading this and enjoying it at least a little bit. Someone informed me that I wasn't accepting anonymous reviews so no one could review if they weren't signed in. I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that the settings were that way. So if anyone was going to review and didn't because of that, feel free to review now. In fact, please please review. I want to know what you think. 

CHAPTER 4

Maya liked being a runaway and a stowaway. It was even sort of exciting. She wasn't really running away, though; she had left a note:

****

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm going with Zekk. I just have a feeling he mite need me. Sorry I didn't say bye but I new you would stop me. I'm almost a Jedi, rite? Anyway, do you NO Jaina's gone? I no it in my head but my haert mite need some confinsing. I saw that in a holovid one time and it's realy true.

Love,

Maya

P.S. Tell Aurie & Des Happy Birthday for me.

She wouldn't be a stowaway for long, either, because Zekk would know she was there as soon as she came out. And by the time she did that, they'd be in hyperspace so he couldn't take her back.

*

Jacen's news brought plenty of confusion. It didn't occur to them to call Zekk or anyone else; everyone assumed someone else had and it never occurred to them to check.

The TIE's computer didn't tell them anything, but that didn't really matter, did it? Jaina was alive, and she could tell them how to get to Nova.

There were problems with Luc, however, that they had to assume were the same for his twin. His memories were partially blocked, and he now believed in everything the Empire stood for. He was also much more strong-willed than he had been before he left; for example, he wouldn't let anyone touch his little white lightsaber, and eventually the adults had stopped trying to take it away from him. They just hoped that whatever damage had been done to him, and presumably to Nova as well, could be reversed.

*

Nova was hiding under Lady Misery's bed, hoping Lord Elbow-head wouldn't find her there. There was a box beside her. Nova opened it. There were lots of things inside. There was a book. Nova couldn't really read it yet, but she recognized her name, Luc's, and a few other little words. She put the book in her pocket and kept looking. There was a multitool. She took that, too. Nova figured it was all right to take this stuff if Lady Misery couldn't come back to get it. Besides, it might help her.

She found a lightsaber. She didn't have room to turn it on under the bed, but she put it on her belt by hers. If it was a real one, she might need it. There was some kind of coat or something. Nova didn't know what it was so she left it alone. At the very bottom, there was a comlink.

She could call for help! But who could she call? She didn't know anybody.

Remembering something, Nova looked at the book again. On the last page, there was a pocket with a piece of flimsy inside. Written on the back of the flimsy was a set of comm codes. She didn't know whose they were, but she could call them and find out.

*

"What were you thinking? Didn't I tell you to stay on Coruscant?" Maya stared Zekk right in the eyes as he yelled at her. "What if I were going somewhere dangerous? You made a promise, you know!"

"Yeah, well you made some promises too," Maya said in a quiet but furious voice. The two of them were so intent on each other, they hardly noticed that the comm was receiving a message. Zekk hit the button to accept, still giving his complete attention to what he was telling Maya.

"Hello?" said a little girl's voice. Stopping in mid-sentence, Zekk turned to stare, even though it was only a voice message. "Is there anybody there?" He leaned close to the microphone and hit the respond button.

"Hello? Hello? Who is this?" he cried. Maya stared at him, wondering what in the universe was going on.

"I'm Nova," the little girl said. "Who are you?"

"Nova!" Zekk exclaimed, sitting down very hard in the chair. "This is your daddy. Are you all right? Where are you?"

"Daddy!" Her voice sounded amazed. "I knew Lord Elbow-head was a big fat liar! Are you my really _real_ daddy?"

"Who's Lord Elbow-head? No, never mind. Nova, baby, where are you? I'm coming to get you but I need to know where. Are Mommy and Luc with you?"

"Everybody went away, Daddy," Nova said in a small voice. "Um…I don't remember what system this is."

"That's okay, Nova," Zekk said. "Are there any planets near you? Can you see any?"

There was the sound of something heavy moving across the floor, then a long pause.

"There's a little planet a long way away. It's kind of yellow. There's more, but I can't see them."

"Okay, Novalee, that's great," Zekk told her. "Can you see anything else?" There was no sound for a long time. "Nova?"

"Bye, Daddy, I have to go! Lord Elbow-head's here!"

"Nova? Nova!" Zekk shouted, but there was only silence on the other end.

*

"Who were you talking to just now?" Lord Elbow-head asked.

"My daddy," Nova told him. Lord Elbow-head frowned.

"I thought I told you that I am your father," he said.

"You're a big fat liar then, Lord Elbow-head," Nova retorted.

"I don't think you know what you're saying, Lady Nova," he said, walking closer.

"Stay away from me!" Nova yelled, turning on Lady Misery's lightsaber. It had a button, and it was purple. She liked it. She liked it even better when Lord Elbow-head stepped back. Then he turned on his own lightsaber. It was red, and it was longer than the purple one. Nova was afraid, but she held up the purple lightsaber the way Lady Misery had taught her.

Lord Elbow-head tried to hit her, but Nova was fast. It also helped being so much littler than he was. He was better, though. He knocked the purple lightsaber out of her hand and it went out. But as soon as that happened, Nova turned on her white one. Lord Elbow-Head laughed at her.

"You think you can beat me with a practice saber? Ha!"

"I can," Nova said, hitting him in the knee. He almost fell, then caught himself and tried to hit her again. Nova tried to block with her lightsaber, but Lord Elbow-head was stronger. He knocked her second saber away, too, and put the end of his just in front of her heart, which was now beating very fast.

There was one more thing she could do. She concentrated _hard_ on lifting and moving. Her practice saber rose up and hit him in the head.

"Nice try," he said, batting it away, and lunged. Nova screamed and shut her eyes. Then something heavy hit the floor. The purple lightsaber left its place in the air beside him and went to her hand. She called her practice saber to her and put it on her belt. Then she picked up his red lightsaber off the floor and put that on her belt, too. She left his arm on the floor where it was.

Lord Elbow-head was on the floor, staring at his arm. It wasn't connected to his shoulder anymore. He didn't try to stop her. She took the turbolift to the hangar bay. She took the last remaining TIE fighter down to the planet, making a rough landing that left the TIE fighter broken, but the girl unharmed. When she was there, she started to cry.

*

Zekk stared at the _Lightning Rod_'s communicator in complete shock. _Nova…_His little girl…

"Zekk? Is she okay?" Maya asked hesitantly.

"I don't know, damn it!" he snapped, spinning around to face her. Maya jumped back. Zekk softened at her frightened look. "I don't know," he repeated quietly. "And you still haven't told me why you are on my ship when I specifically told you to stay on Coruscant." Maya's furious defiance returned.

"Because I want to be!" she shouted, "Though I don't know why!" She turned and fled the room.

After a minute, Zekk followed her. He found her curled up on her bed.

"I don't like the fact that you broke your promise, but I'm willing to get over it because I would have done the same thing." Maya stared at him for so long that he sat down beside her. Finally, she spoke.

"I—I know it's not your fault that Jaya's…dead," Maya said, fighting tears. She sat up. "You were just protecting us. I just needed somebody to be mad at. I thought that if I was mad then…"

"Then it wouldn't hurt so much?" Maya nodded and burst into tears. "Rusty, you know better than that. It didn't work, did it?" Maya shook her head. Zekk opened his arms and Maya willingly crawled onto his lap for a comforting hug. She clung to him and sobbed.

"I hate whoever took Jaya away. I hate them!" Maya said when she could talk again. "I know Mommy and Daddy say I shouldn't hate anybody, but I do!" Zekk studied her carefully before deciding whether to lecture or answer honestly.

"Yeah, me too," he said, choosing the latter.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"What are you going to do about Nova? She said everybody went away, so Luc must have escaped somehow." _Or he's dead,_ she added silently.

"I don't know what we're going to do," he said, choosing not to enlighten the seven-year-old that there were other possibilities besides his son getting away. "I guess we'll have to go on to Dathomir and see if they know anything. Nova's call came too fast for me to trace it." His mind raced with thoughts of what could be happening to his little girl.

"You love her a lot." It wasn't a question.

"She's my baby," he agreed.

"We'll find her," Maya said, smiling confidently at him.

*

Lando Calrissian walked into the med center on Alderaan Station. His best friend's daughter stared at him as if trying to think of who he was.

"Well, Jaina," he said cheerfully. "We've finished all the tests, and you're completely up to the trip to Dathomir."

"What's on Dathomir?" she asked.

"Almost your entire family," he replied. "Both of your brothers, your sisters-in-law, and all the kids." Jaina considered that. _All of them?_

"So, I'm healed?" she asked finally.

"Yes," he said, nodding confirmation. "And don't worry. The baby's doing just fine. Why didn't you tell us you were pregnant?"

She just stared at him for a very long moment.

"I'm what?"

*

Jacen and Anakin watched as the _Lightning Rod_ set down in front of them. The ramp lowered and out walked Zekk, followed closely by Maya, who looked both apologetic and defiant, as if challenging anyone to ask what she was doing there, while apologizing for it before they could ask.

"Zekk!" Jacen cried and rushed forward to greet him. Anakin followed more slowly, though he was no longer out to kill.

"Jacen," Zekk said, returning his former brother-in-law's hug and wondering what Jacen was so excited about. He looked at Anakin. "Did I miss something?" he asked, with a questioning glance at Jacen. Anakin laughed, finally releasing the last of his anger.

"Let's just say…you missed a lot."

"I did? Like what?" Zekk asked, curious now.

"Well, for starters," Anakin replied, "Jaina's alive."

"What? But how? I mean…"

"Jaya's alive?" Maya exclaimed, unable to resist interrupting the adults' conversation.

"Yes, she's definitely alive," Jacen said, smiling at her. "The TIE she was in was protected with quantum armour. Anja and Tahiri found her while they were working on Alderaan Station."

"Then she's okay?" Zekk was barely able to contain his excitement. "Where is she?"

"Lando is bringing her here on the _Lady Luck_. Anja and Tahiri are coming, too."

"We have even more good news," Anakin put in. "Your son is here."

Zekk felt his jaw drop and could do nothing about it. "And—Nova?" Anakin's grin faded.

"No." It was barely a whisper. "We don't know how to find her." Zekk let out his breath and then forced something resembling a smile to his face.

"But Luc is here?" he asked. He felt his heart stop when the others didn't lose their serious expressions. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's fine…physically," Jacen explained. "Come on, you can see for yourself." He reached down and ruffled Maya's hair affectionately, neatly avoiding Zekk's eyes; then the four of them started back to the village proper.

"Do you know who had them? Who was behind this from the beginning, even while he made us trust him?" Anakin asked, gritting his teeth. He spoke in a tone that suggested to Maya that it was something she wasn't supposed to hear, so she tried to listen without looking at him.

"Who?" Zekk's voice was equally tight, though he didn't seem to be trying to hide his words from her.

"Kanyen," said Anakin. "Everybody's best friend, Kanyen. He was planning it from the time we met him. He was probably behind whatever split up you and Jaina, too."

"So, the whole time the guy was becoming our _friend,_ he was plotting ways to steal my wife and kids?" He refrained from saying "I told you so," but even Maya heard it in his voice. "Why? What does he want with them?"

"He wants to rebuild the Empire. What else? Jaina's the granddaughter of Anakin Skywalker, so he figures that she's the perfect person to play his Darth Vader," Jacen said furiously.

"And, with Luc and Nova being the most recent 'Jedi Twins,' he figured they'd be the perfect heirs," Anakin finished.

"Damn him!" Zekk cried. "Why didn't we see it coming?"

"You did," Anakin said softly.

"I saw him falling for my wife. I saw him being a jerk to my friends when they were too nice to notice. I didn't see kidnapping, murder and galactic domination!"

"We didn't see it because he didn't want us to," Jacen said. "He gained our trust. That was all he ever wanted from the rest of us. Willing allies to lead astray."

"And the bastard still has Nova," Zekk said, clenching his fist. "She must have somehow gotten away from him, though. She found a comm and called the _Lightning Rod,_ but she couldn't tell me where she was. I was hoping someone here would know something."

"We don't know much more than you do. The kids couldn't tell us, and Luc's borrowed TIE was programmed to wipe its memory banks if the pilot didn't punch in a certain code on leaving hyperspace," Anakin said.

"Speaking of Luc…" Jacen added. "You know that Kanyen did something to Jaina's memory to make her think she was evil."

"Yeah," Zekk said hesitantly.

"Well, he did it to Luc, too," Anakin said with disgust. "I don't know if he did the same to Nova, but we have to assume that he did."

"We figured out that his memories can be pulled back by someone going into his mind to retrieve them," Jacen said. "All of us tried it with Luc, but he never spent enough time with any of us to have formed a strong enough emotional bond, and what with his memories being blocked he doesn't 'know' us well enough to let us in. It's not a conscious thing—he's as heavily shielded, mentally, as anyone I've known, and it's all completely instinctual. We can't break it, either, at least not without completely destroying his mind."

"Will he let me in?" Zekk asked.

"I don't know. There's only one way to find out, but I warn you it will be long and tiring work."

"I don't care," said Zekk. "I'll do whatever it takes."

*

Anja Gallandro sat with Jaina, talking, trying to find out what her old friend could remember.

"So, three kids," she said. "I'll bet the first two are tough enough to handle." Jaina shrugged, staring off into space. Anja felt odd with their roles reversed. When they had first met, Anja had been silent and withdrawn, and Jaina and her friends had tried to draw her out. Of course, that was back when she was on spice, and she hadn't exactly been there to make friends with them.

"I remember you," Jaina said softly, just above a whisper.

"You do?" Anja was surprised, but not displeased.

"I remember what you like," she continued, and Anja's friendly smile dropped at the note of danger in Jaina's voice. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, velker?" Anja flinched at the old nickname. "Or maybe it hasn't been so long after all. You're awfully energetic for someone your age."

"I'm twenty-eight, Jaina." Jaina didn't seem to have heard.

"You couldn't resist it, could you? It's perfectly understandable. We tried to make you quit right off. I can see now how wrong that was. Your withdrawals would have nearly killed you, if you had really quit. But you didn't, did you? Are you still on andris? Or have you turned to another spice by now?"

"No," Anja gasped, turning away.

"Just andris, then. Good for you." She smiled. It wasn't friendly at all. "My Lord Elbakni has a good-sized stash of the stuff. It's very valuable, you know. If you'd like some…I'm sure for a friend, my dear husband would hand it over cheap. Maybe even free. Just get me off this ship, and I'll take you to him. Come on, Anja—andris."

"Leave me alone," Anja said in a very cold voice, standing up. "Don't speak to me about this again." She left, trying to hide the fact that she was almost in tears. She never cried. But even after her old friend was far behind her, she could still hear the word, like an echo clinging to her ears. Andris.

*

Zekk saw to it that Maya was taken care of, then went off alone in search of his son. He found him practicing with a little white lightsaber in back of one of the buildings.

Even though he had been warned, the look of unrecognition in Luc's eyes was almost enough to make Zekk turn around right then and go away. Still, this was his son, and he had to be sure.

"Luc?" The boy let his lightsaber fizzle out as he turned to face the stranger coming to meet him.

"Yes, sir?" His tone was polite, with no real emotions behind it except maybe impatience to get back to his lightsaber.

"Do you remember me?" Zekk asked. Luc cocked his head curiously, then shrugged.

"No, sir."

"My name is Zekk Dallinger," he said, dropping to his knees in the grass to better look his son in the eyes. The name obviously meant nothing. "What's your name?"

"I'm Luc." Unlike most children his age, he didn't add a family name. Zekk decided not to press the issue.

"I noticed you practicing with that lightsaber," he said instead. "You're not half bad, son. Would you like a sparring partner?" Luc grinned, finally, at the sight of the blade that sprang, as if by magic, to Zekk's open hand.

*

"Jaina, can…can I talk to you?" Tahiri asked hesitantly from the doorway.

"Okay," Jaina said quietly. Tahiri walked into the room and sat down in a chair.

"Anja's freaked. Did you say something to her?" Tahiri asked, getting straight to the point instead of chattering as she had always done as a child.

"I'm sorry," Jaina said, sounding absolutely sincere. "I didn't mean to upset her. I just—well, she used to do spice, and I mentioned it to her, and she just freaked, like you said. I can't remember everything." She put a hand to her head. "That man who kidnapped me…he did something to me. He has ways to get at whoever he wants. For me, it was my children. For someone like Anja, he has a huge supply of spice. For you, maybe…information." Tahiri didn't need her Jedi senses to know that Jaina was laying out a trap. Her curiosity overcame her caution, and she took the bait.

"What kind of information?"

"Oh, about your family," Jaina said calmly. "Lord Elbakni has access to all kinds of information that most people never get to see. You never learned all you wanted to know about your parents. He could tell you." Tahiri hesitated for just a moment, then stood up.

"I just remembered that I have to help Lando do a thing now," she said. "Excuse me."

*

"Wake up! Everybody, wake up! Today's the day! Jaya's coming!" Nobody responded to Maya's excited chattering except Kassy, who muttered something and rolled over in bed. Maya tried again in the room all the boys were sharing.

"Luc, your mom's going to get here soon."

"The sun's not up yet," he said without opening his eyes. Maya looked out the window. Sure enough, it was pitch black. She checked the chronometer. It was 0430 Dathomir time, and nearly the same by Coruscant Standard. Feeling silly, Maya went back to bed.

By 0500 she was up again. She went to find Zekk. Even though they had just had the big fight on the _Lightning Rod_, he was still her favourite grownup, after Jaina. He was sleeping on the ship.

Maya entered her access codes and went up. Zekk was standing on the bridge, staring out the viewport.

"How come you're not sleeping?" Maya asked, standing just outside the entryway. She suddenly wasn't quite sure whether she should come in.

"I don't spend much time planetside," Zekk said without turning around. "I like watching a sunrise whenever I can." Maya stood there, feeling self-conscious.

Then she said in a small voice, "Today Jaya's coming."

Then Zekk turned to face her, and Maya was relieved to see that he was smiling.

"Have a seat, Rusty," he said, motioning toward the co-pilot seat. Maya was happy to obey.

"Are you excited, Zekk?" Maya asked after she sat down.

"About the sunrise?"

"You know what I mean," Maya said. "Jaya. She's coming today."

"I know, kid," Zekk said more seriously. "Yeah, I'm excited." With a sigh he turned back to the sunrise. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Do you still love her?" Maya wondered.

"'Course I do," Zekk said without taking his eyes off the viewport.

"Are you still _in_ love?" Maya persisted. There was a long pause.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

*

"Hummm, thrummm, bazzzoommm!" Corrie waved a stick around, making lightsaber sounds.

"You know, you're doing that all wrong," Luc said lazily.

"What?" Luc laughed at his surprised look. He liked sneaking up on people.

"Your guard wasn't _bad_, but it wouldn't work too well against someone really _good_. Your attack, that was just plain sloppy. Lady Misery would have hit me so hard if she'd caught me messing around like that...If you were having a real fight you'd get your butt kicked."

"Nuh-uh!" Corrie protested.

"Watch this." Luc picked up a stick and held it in middle guard. "There's three guards. High—" he moved the stick up. "That blocks when they slash down at your head. High guard is dangerous, though, 'cause it leaves your body open. You usually stay in middle guard." He moved the stick down. "That'll block most sideways swings. Low guard is hardest." He moved the stick to that the end was pointed back at him. "It blocks jabs, but it's harder to move when you're like that. There's three basic attacks, too: jab, up and down slash, and sideways swing. Up slash is from low guard and stops all the way up in high guard—" Just then, Maya came running out of the _Lightning Rod_.

"You guys!" she yelled. "Here comes the _Lady Luck_! Jaya's here!"

"Really, Maya?" Corrie asked. "Oh, wait, I don't care. I'm getting a Jedi lesson, so go away."

"Ha, ha, that's so funny I forgot to laugh," Maya told him sarcastically. "Your mom says all the kids have to go inside, so get going."

"Fine, rancor-face," Corrie said. "Come on, Luc." Luc started to follow Corrie inside.

"Luc, wait," Maya whispered. "I have to tell you something.

"What is it?" Luc asked. He heard the door slam as Corrie went inside.

"Jaina—" She paused. "Don't you want to see her first?"

"Nope." He started to go.

"Come on, Luc, just come with me," Maya pleaded. "I don't want to go by myself. All you have to do is hide in a bush!"

"Well…okay," Luc finally agreed. He was a _little_ curious about this Jaina lady…

*

The _Lady Luck_ set down gently on its repulsors. Inside the safety zone, Zekk and all the others waited eagerly. Out of the corner of his eye, Zekk saw a flash of red. Maya, and maybe one of the other children, were trying to hide.

_Should I make them go inside?_ he wondered. _No. I'll let them stay…this time._

"The landing ramp is descending," Tenel Ka observed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zekk asked, unconsciously using Jaina's favorite expression. "Let's go!" The five of them walked forward, as Lando walked down the landing ramp. Jaina came behind him, followed by Anja and Tahiri, who were both handing back. At the sight of the woman he had loved for so long, Zekk broke into a run. Then he saw the look on her face, and stopped. It took him a moment to realise that he had not meant to stop moving. Everyone else was also frozen in place.

"Jaina?" Jacen choked. Jaina didn't move. The door on the ship slammed down, locking Anja and Tahiri inside. "Jaina!" Jacen repeated, and Zekk heard the pain in his friend's voice. A tiny breeze whipped past them, first ruffling his hair and quickly growing until everyone's hair and clothes were ripped about by the wind. Only Jaina was unaffected.

Zekk suddenly found himself able to move again, but the wind kept him from moving any closer. Rocks, dirt, and plants were ripped out of the ground and swirled around their heads. A group of three witches appeared from the village, and were knocked back by the wind.

"Jaina, please stop!" Zekk cried, fighting in vain to reach her.

"You do not understand," she shouted, and the voice did not belong to the woman Zekk loved. "I failed in my mission, but now I have another chance, and I am going to take it! You must all die, so that Lord Elbakni may rule as is his birthright!"

"Get back here!" a voice yelled faintly, and Zekk suddenly remembered that the children were watching. It was Luc who ran into the cyclone, barely able to keep his feet on the ground.

"Lady Misery, don't!" He shouted as loud as he could, but his voice was almost lost in the storm. Zekk watched in amazement as the winds died down around the little boy, although their strength didn't lessen anywhere else.

"Bannashi tanta aplu evilly midsu." Zekk heard the witches chanting softly, and saw that they had joined hands. Jaina's eyes almost had the look they used to, when she watched the babies sleeping. Tenel Ka whirled to face the witches, and was almost ripped off the ground.

"No!" she shouted. "Not that!" Jaina stretched out one hand, out into the tempest. The witches kept chanting.

"My son?" she said softly, and this time Zekk almost, _almost_ recognized her voice.

"Bannashi tanta aplu evilly midsu!" There was a bright flash of light, and the winds suddenly stopped. Zekk fell to his knees, feeling oddly stretched.

Dirt and rocks and plants rained down. When it finally cleared, he found himself blinking hard to clear his vision, to no effect. Maya ran past him, to the witches.

"What did you do?" she screamed at them. Zekk realised that his vision was tinted turquoise. The turquoise dissipated, leaving a tint of navy blue, and Zekk stood up.

"It was a death spell," Tenel Ka said quietly, angrily. "It blows out shields until it gets to the person inside. I told you to stop." The navy blue dissipated, leaving a tint of emerald green, and Zekk managed to stop swaying. Anakin went to stand beside Tenel Ka, looking as threatening as a wounded rancor.

"She would have killed you all," one of the witches said. The emerald green dissipated, leaving a tint of orange-yellow, and Zekk began to walk.

"She was my twin sister," Jacen said accusingly.

"She was pregnant," Lando said hollowly.

"Why are you talking like she's dead? She's not dead!" Maya said frantically. "You can't let her be dead!"

As Zekk walked, the orange-yellow tint faded and he felt his own strength coming back to him. When he reached Jaina's side, there was no colour left but violet.

She was lying there, her eyes staring at nothing. She breathed, but not deeply. Zekk knelt beside her, lifting her head, gently touching her hair.

"I love you, Jaina," he whispered. "I always have, I always will. Anything I've done to make you not believe that, I swear I didn't mean it. Are you still here? Please don't leave me, Jaina. Please?" Soft footfalls came up behind him.

"Lady Misery," Luc whispered. "Is she Jaina too?"

As they spoke, the violet slowly pulled back into Jaina, drawing into her stomach, then diffusing throughout the rest of her. It brightened and was gone, and the world was back to its commonplace shades.

She moved. Her eyes opened.

"Yes," she said.

*


	6. Chapter 5

****

See disclaimer in prologue.

Ok, for anyone who is actually reading this, here is the next chapter. It took a little longer than I thought it would to get out so if I kept anyone waiting to long, sorry about that. If anyone out there likes this story at all, or even if u don't, please drop me a review. I haven't had a very good week and that would definitely cheer me up. :)

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


CHAPTER 5

"'Night, Daddy," Kirinna said, snuggling under the covers.

"Night-night, Daddy," Kasaia echoed sleepily.

"Good night, Jasa," Maya said. "Don't worry, Jaya will be okay."

"I hope so, kiddo," Jacen said. "Goodnight, girls." He closed the door, leaving just a crack, and went to bed. Tenel Ka was waiting for him.

"Are you tired, my Jacen?" she asked.

"I'm not too tired to stay up and…do stuff," he said, getting under the sheet. Tenel Ka half-smiled at him.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well…Actually, I don't know." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I just can't quit thinking about my sister. Will she be all right? What's going on with her?" With another sigh, he slumped down.

For a while, Tenel Ka just lay there next to him. Then she said, in a perfectly serious tone, "Would you like to hear a joke?"

"What?"

"A joke," she repeated. "You use humour to cause laughter when people are sad or upset. Laughter causes you not to feel as badly. And you, my friend, are extremely upset."

"Well, I'm not—I mean, I don't need you to—Well, okay, go ahead," Jacen said, curious about what she would do. She thought a moment.

"Buzz buzz," she said seriously. His eyebrows rose.

"You're telling me a doorbell joke?"

"Buzz _buzz_," she repeated.

Grinning, he replied, "Who's there?"

"Filipp," she said, not quite smiling.

"Filipp who?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"Filipp my fuel tank, please."

"Where in the universe did you hear that?" Jacen asked, choking back giggles.

"Kirinna told it to me," she said. "Seven times in a row."

"So," Jacen said. "The kid takes after her old man a little after all." He waggled his eyebrows in a way he hadn't done in years, and it was on that nostalgic note that she turned off the light.

"Tenel Ka?" he asked in the dark a moment later, sounding very much like a small boy coming to an adult for help.

"Yes, my Jacen?" she asked sleepily.

"Why did she say 'yes'?"

*

"Luc, Zekk and I need to talk to you on the _Lightning Rod_," Tenel Ka told her nephew after breakfast in the morning.

"Sorry, Mrs. Djo—"

"Don't call me that," she interrupted.

"Um, Tenel Ka," he amended. "Sorry, but me and Corrie were going to play."

"You can play later. Corrie will understand. We have something important to talk to you about."

"Well…okay, I guess," Luc said sullenly and followed her to the _Lightning Rod._

Zekk was there waiting for them. He sat in the pilot's chair, his head down as he concentrated on what he was about to do. He looked up and smiled nervously as they walked in.

"Hey, Luc," Zekk said in an anxious voice. Tenel Ka sent him a look that told him to calm down.

"Hi, Mr. Dallinger," Luc replied. Zekk cringed, wanting with all his heart to hear his son say 'Daddy' again.

"Luc, Zekk and I want to try a little experiment and we need you to help us," Tenel Ka started.

"What kind of esperiment?" Luc wanted to know.

"Well, it's a test to see how susceptible you are to the Force."

"What does susepabable mean?" Luc asked.

"It means how open you are to something," Zekk answered.

"I'm open to the Force!" Luc cried.

"We know you are, but Lady Misery wanted you tested," Tenel Ka said, using a tactic that she knew would work on the young boy. "She told us before…well, before."

"Lady Misery wants me to?" Luc questioned quietly. Tenel Ka nodded.

"Well, okay, I guess."

"You have to come sit in my lap," Zekk said. "I have to be able to touch you so I can go in your mind and see if the Force is there." Luc studied him for a moment, then walked over and crawled up into his lap.

_He has the perfect lap for snuggling in,_ Luc decided as he let himself relax. Zekk began to stroke his son's hair lightly, afraid that if he did anything drastic, Luc might jump up and run away. He fell into a type of trance and _reached_ out for Luc's mind. After some struggle, Luc let him in. He _opened_ all the locks in Luc's mind and found the place where his memories were hidden. He felt Tenel Ka guide him to the ones he would need to recall first, and then her presence withdrew completely. It was just Zekk and his son.

He decided to start off with something Luc already knew. He touched the memory, and it followed him without much resistance.

_Luc and Nova were playing a game outside. Luc ran forward and grabbed his sister's hand. She was out. He won._

More memories of the twins playing together came to the surface on their own. Zekk decided to try something new.

_"Mommy, let's go!" Mommy smiled at him, and picked him up. Luc hugged her._

Zekk left the memories alone for a minute to think about it. He had never seen Jaina through someone else's eyes before. She looked so different. Zekk wondered how his son saw him. He hesitated. Then he plunged in.

_Luc was on the bottom bunk. It wasn't fair that Nova always got the top just because she was older. She was asleep already, but Luc was awake. He pretended to be asleep though, because somebody was opening the door. It was Daddy._

"Don't worry about this, kids," Daddy said quietly. "Me and Mommy will be okay." He pulled Luc's covers up and went out of the room.

"Good night, Daddy," Luc whispered when Daddy left.

There were a lot of memories now. There were a lot more left. Much as he wanted to protect his son from anything bad, including his own memories, it was time for Zekk to open up those as well.

_"I can't believe you!" Mommy yelled._

"Jaina, listen to me," Daddy said, grabbing her arm.

"Don't touch me!" Mommy jerked away. "Don't touch me, don't talk to me, and don't try to stop me!"

"Where are you going?" Daddy asked.

"I'm leaving. I am taking my children, and I am leaving!"

"Are you going to Kanyen?" Daddy asked quietly.

"Oh, so that's what this is about," Mommy said, "Your crazy, jealous obsession! Get a life, Zekk. Kanyen is a great person, and a good friend!"

"If he's so great, why don't you marry him_?"_

"Maybe I will!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Two separate doors slammed.

"Don't worry," Luc said to Nova. "Daddy said it will be okay, and it will." He went away from the door where he was listening and gave his twin a hug. "We're all going to be okay."

Zekk opened his eyes, coming out of his trance and his son's mind.

"That's enough for now," he said in a voice that he hoped was cheerful. "Go play with Corrie, and I'll see you after dinner, okay?"

*

"I got you! You're out, Jad!" Corrie and his little brother chased each other across the grass.

"Hey, Corrie, I'm done with my test now," Luc said, running up to join them.

"What took you so long?" Corrie asked. "You've been in there all day." Luc shrugged.

"We were just doing…I dunno, Jedi stuff. Anyway, let's play now."

"Not so fast, boys." Corrie turned around to see his dad there. "You kids have got to go get some dinner. Especially you, Luc. You missed lunch."

"But Uncle Anakin, we didn't even get to play!" Luc said.

"Really, Dad," Corrie added. "Can't we have just a _few_ more minutes?" He did his best to give what his mom called the guilt trip look.

"Well, maybe just a _couple_," he replied. Then he stopped. "Luc…what did you just call me?"

"Uncle Anakin," Luc repeated.

"You remember who I am?" Anakin asked. "How?"

"Daddy," Luc explained. "Daddy fixed my rememories."

*

Zekk entered the med center just as Jacen was coming out of Jaina's room.

"How is she?" Zekk asked. Jaina had stayed in the bacta tank for twenty-eight hours. Now she was almost completely restored. Some of the witches were already trying to study the layered-shield effect that Tenel Ka, Anakin, Jacen, Zekk, and Jaina had accomplished instinctively. Their shields had remained separate from one another, denoted by the colour (which matched each person's lightsaber blade) and yet had worked with the others around it to become stronger than it would have alone.

"She's doing better," Jacen said. "A little weak, but that's to be expected."

"And?" Zekk prompted cautiously.

"And…" Jacen continued, a grin spreading across his face. "She's Jaina. At least she was when I saw her. So unless she's had a relapse…"

"Are you sure?" Zekk exclaimed, not daring to hope.

Jaina was weak, but of course it was a miracle that she had survived at all. As for the newly discovered baby, the bacta had interfered with readings and Jaina had been too afraid to let anyone check since. In fact, there were times when she wouldn't let anyone come near her at all. She seemed terrified to be around other people, but she was not afraid for her own safety.

"Hey! Am I her twin or not? 'Course I'm sure!" Zekk was dumbfounded. "Now get in there! She won't ask, but I know she wants to see you."

*

Jaina sat staring at a holopic someone had put beside her bed. It showed an image of her family. Everyone, from her Uncle Luke to her baby niece, Lei, was in it. Jaina had thought her mother crazy when Leia had insisted they take it the last time they were all on Coruscant. Now she was glad, even though it hurt her to look at the image knowing all the pain she had caused them. She didn't know how she had gotten her memories back, she only knew she had them. Most of the time.

Jaina remembered being Misery and a part of her still was, somewhere deep inside. The only thing that frightened her was the feeling that Misery might decide to come out.

Jaina looked up as someone walked in the door. It was Zekk. Her breath caught in her throat. She had hurt him. She remembered that clearly. The look on his face when she had left, telling him that she didn't love him, and taking his children. Jaina clenched her fists. Everything Kanyen had told her was a lie! Everything! And it had very possibly cost her the love of her life.

She looked up and her gaze locked with Zekk's. She looked away.

"Jaina—"

"Zekk—" They both spoke at the same time. They laughed nervously. He walked over and sat beside her on the bed.

"So…do you remember everything?" Zekk asked.

"Yes," Jaina said softly. "Zekk, I…" She looked at him. He sat far away, looking everywhere in the room but at her. The look in his eyes was almost one of fear. Jaina's heart was pounding. "Oh, God, what have I done to us?" she said, her voice quivering. He looked at her questioningly. "I am such an idiot," she started.

"Jaina, wait," he interrupted. "I don't know what I did to make you hate me, but—"

"I don't hate—"

"No, let me finish," Zekk insisted. "I don't know what happened between us, but I do know that when I thought you were dead…I couldn't take it." He blinked rapidly. "We once thought that our love could withstand anything. Do you still feel that way?" He looked at her, passion evident in his eyes.

"Oh, Zekk, I've messed up everything! None of this is your fault; I was stupid for listening to Kanyen's lies. He messed with my mind, he made me believe evil things about you when he was the one who was evil."

"Jaina, I don't think this was all your fault. He has some kind of power over you."

"It doesn't matter!" Jaina cried. "It doesn't change what I've done, to us, to our family! I couldn't have faith in you when it counted and that's my fault. It doesn't matter that I've ruined everything, because I don't deserve you, no matter how much I love you." Her voice broke and she looked down at her hands.

"I don't believe this was your fault. He did something to you; you wouldn't do something like that on your own. I love you, Jaina. Whatever happened, it's in the past, it's right now that counts."

"How could you want anything to do with me?" Jaina asked unbelievingly. "All I've done is hurt you!" Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. Zekk reached over and tilted her chin so that her eyes locked with his.

"You hurt me by not being with me," he said softly. She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. He slid closer and put his arms around her.

"What if I mess up again?"

"Then we'll get through it together," he said firmly. Jaina looked up and stared at him for a long time, reading only love in his eyes.

"Oh, Zekk, I love you so much," she said, sobbing. "I was sure I had destroyed any love you had for me." She clung to him, unable to stop crying and shaking.

"I could never stop loving you," Zekk assured her. "Hey, calm down. It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." As if to convince her, he tipped her chin up and kissed her gently. She returned the kiss with one full of passion. The Force flowed around them, and they could feel their bond, which had never really broken, growing stronger than ever. Jaina buried her face in his chest, and they stayed that 0way for a long time, just holding each other.

"Zekk," Jaina said, finally pulling away. "There's something I need to tell you."

"I think I know, but…"

"The baby's yours, Zekk. I'm sure of it."

"How do you know?" he asked. "I mean, it wouldn't matter. It doesn't with Luc and Nova."

"I know," Jaina said positively. "I didn't realize it then, but I was pregnant about two weeks before…So she's yours."

"She?" Zekk questioned.

"She."

"And is she?"

"I don't know if she was affected. I'm afraid to check," she told him.

"Jaina, we have to know."

"You're right, but what if…" Her finally subsided tears began to well up again.

"Now, don't do that before we even know anything," Zekk said soothingly. "Here, let me." He lifted her shirt and laid his hand on the slight bulge in her stomach. Jaina trembled under his touch. He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind. He felt Jaina, scared but hopeful, and, going deeper, he felt another presence reach out and brush his. He opened his eyes. Jaina was staring at him expectantly.

"I felt her," he whispered in awe.

"Is she…?"

"She's fine." Jaina sighed in relief.

"What about the twins?" she asked, going on to her next worry. "Where are they?"

"Well, um," Zekk started, not knowing what to tell her about Nova. "Wait here." He rushed out of the room leaving Jaina dumbfounded.

*

"What do you want to play?" Corrie asked. All the kids shrugged. "How about Jedis?"

"Being a Jedi is not a game, Corrie," Luc said seriously.

"Fuddy-duddy," Corrie said.

"Un-responsible," Luc replied.

"Geek!"

"Dork!"

"Loser!"

"Knock it off," Maya cried. Everybody looked at her in surprise, even Lei. "My head hurts." Corrie and Luc glanced at each other, but before they could turn their now-united assault on her, the door opened and Zekk came in.

"Big news, everybody," he said. "Jaina and the baby are both all right. Luc, you're going to have a little sister."

"Jaya's okay? Can I see her?" Maya asked eagerly.

"Maybe later, Rusty," Zekk said gently. "Right now she needs to get a lot of rest because she's still very weak, and she can't see too many people."

"But I wouldn't make her tired," Maya argued. "I wouldn't even stay that long."

"Just trust me on this one, kiddo. When Jaina's ready for more visitors, you can see her then. And that doesn't mean for you to just sneak in there and do it anyway, like you've been doing, because that's a very good way to get in trouble, understand?"

"Yes," Maya muttered. She might understand, but that didn't necessarily mean that she would do what he said.

"Luc, you can come in for a minute," Zekk said. "Your mother was asking about you and Nova."

"What did you tell her?" Maya asked, although what she really wanted to know was why Jaina hadn't been asking about _her_.

"Well…"

"Yeah, what'd you tell her?" Kirinna and Luc said at the same time. Zekk cleared his throat.

"We have an audience. We'll talk later. Come on, Luc, let's go."

*

Zekk pushed open the door to Jaina's medical room. Luc walked in slowly. Though he knew now that Lady Misery was his mommy, he was still a little scared.

"Come in, Luc," Zekk said, kneeling down beside him. "It's okay. She's not bad anymore." Luc, of course, had complete faith in his daddy.

"Okay, Daddy," he whispered, continuing forward. Zekk stood and shut the door behind him.

Jaina was lying on the bed, facing away from them.

"Mommy?" It couldn't have been more than a whisper, but Jaina heard it and, sitting up, turned around quickly.

"Luc!" she cried. Seeing that Jaina was really his mother again, he ran forward and into her arms. Jaina pulled him up onto the bed with her. His arms were wrapped around her neck in a tight hug. "Oh, my baby!" She held him as if he would disappear any second.

Zekk stood watching them, a huge smile spreading across his face. His family was finally reunited, well…almost. Jaina seemed to read his mind.

"Where's Nova?" she asked.

"Nova's on the star destroyer," Luc said. Jaina fixed Zekk with a penetrating stare.

"You didn't _get_ her?"

"We don't know where to go," Zekk said, sitting next to Jaina on the bed. "Luc and the other kids came to us, and they didn't know where they'd come from. That's why we were waiting for you to wake up so you could tell us. I—I got a call from Nova on the _Lightning Rod_, before I got to Dathomir. She said she saw a yellow planet, but that doesn't tell us much.

"You got a call from my daughter and you didn't go and get her?"

"Well, jeez—Jaina, have you been listening at all? We don't know where she is!" Luc got up and stood on the bed between his parents.

"Don't fight!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Zekk and Jaina fell silent. "Don't fight," he repeated more quietly.

"Hutt space," Jaina finally whispered.

"What?" Zekk asked.

"He had an alliance with one of the Hutt clans," she said, looking at her fingers. "He wasn't far from there when I left, and if he needed supplies or just wanted not to be found, that would be the most logical place to go." Zekk smiled.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Jaina kissed him on the cheek.

"You don't know how much I've missed hearing you say that."

"And you don't know how much I've missed saying it," he replied, drawing Luc and Jaina into a close hug.

*

Nova looked up at the sky. She didn't know much about the stars yet. She didn't know which one her newly discovered daddy might be looking at. But still, she looked. She saw a dot that she knew was Lord Elbow-head's ship. She wondered why he hadn't come for her.

Maybe she had killed him! No, she didn't think so.

She wished somebody would come to rescue her. She was tired of being all alone. And she was hungry.

_Crack._

Something snapped behind her. She turned.

*

After dinner, Maya went to the med center. She was going to see her cousin whether anybody else liked it or not. She knew she would get into trouble, and it wasn't that she wanted to disobey Zekk, but…

She missed Jaina. Didn't anybody understand? She was never bad just to be bad. She always had a reason, just not always one that the grown-up people understood. She had a very good reason right now, but Zekk didn't get it, and probably nobody else did, either.

She got to the door to Jaina's room and lifted her hand to knock. Then she stopped. What if Zekk was right, and Jaina was too sick to see her? Or what if…what if Jaina didn't even want to see her? Or, the scariest thing of all: _What if Jaina still wasn't really Jaina_? What if she was still that bad person, Lady Misery? Hadn't she tricked everybody before? What if that happened again? And even if she wasn't, Zekk would get so mad…

Maya turned around to go back the way she had come. She would come back and see Jaina when Zekk said it was time.

As she turned, Maya heard the sound of a door opening.

"Need to get in here, kid?" a voice asked. Maya turned around again to see her cousin Anakin standing in the doorway.

"I'm coming back later," Maya muttered.

"Oh, it's okay," Anakin said. "You can go in now if you want."

"But won't she get tired?" Maya asked, somewhat surprised that Anakin hadn't thought of that.

"You aren't planning on taking her jogging, are you?"

"Well, no, but—but Zekk said. He said I can't come yet, 'cause Jaina's too—She's not strong enough." Maya was furious with herself when she realized she was crying. Anakin knelt down by her and gave her a hug.

"If Zekk said that, then Zekk's a moron, and you can tell him I said that," Anakin said firmly. "There's no way anyone with more than three brain cells would keep you and my sister apart."

"Anakin? Who are you talking to?" came a voice from inside the room. Maya's breath caught in her throat as she stepped back from Anakin and looked into the room. Someone walked into the doorway. She didn't move like Jaina. She walked like she was scared of breaking something. She was wearing a white nightgown. Jaina wouldn't wear that. Then again, neither would Lady Misery. Her dark hair spilled over her shoulders. It was a little darker than Maya remembered, or was that just her imagination? Her face was so pale it almost looked transparent. Maya couldn't see her eyes.

"Maya?" It wasn't Jaina's voice. It wasn't Lady Misery's voice. It was someone else's, a stranger's. _Who are you?_ Maya looked up, wishing she would say something else, wishing…she didn't know what.

"Oh, Maya!" The voice was different yet again, this time choked with tears. She knelt down, and finally Maya saw the eyes. They were the same eyes. They were right. They were Jaina's. And they, too, were filled with tears.

Getting into the spirit of things, Maya burst into tears and threw herself into her cousin's arms. She knew it was Jaina. It couldn't be anybody else.

"Oh, Jaya, you're _back_!" Maya sobbed.

"Yes, Maya, I'm back." Maya was so happy, she didn't hear the doubt in Jaina's voice.

*

"You're not going." Maya heard the flat finality in Zekk's voice, and it didn't bother her a bit. She had faced off against him before. And this time, she had grownups on her side.

"I'm going," she replied, just as firmly. She steadied something against the hull of the _Lightning Rod_ while Zekk secured it more firmly, getting the ship ready to travel. It was getting really old. Pretty soon, Zekk would have to get a new one.

"Who said you could come along?"

"Ankan did." She looked at him, but his expression was no different.

"Anakin isn't flying."

"I asked Jasa too. And Tenel Ka. They both said yes."

"Maya, I don't think you understand how dangerous—"

"And Jaya," Maya interrupted. "Jaya said I could go. Get that look off your face, Zekk; Anakin said I could go in. And she was glad I came, and so was I. And even if you don't let me come with you, I'll go in the _Rock Dragon_ because they said I could, and I want to help!" Her green eyes flashed, and she knew she looked like her mother.

"You think you can help?" Zekk asked tiredly.

"Zekk, if my parents told me not to go, I wouldn't. Even if just Jaya said not to, I wouldn't. But my parents aren't here, and Jaya said I could. I'm supposed to learn to be responsible and stuff, right?"

"But, Maya," he said, "When I started taking care of you and your sisters, your mom and dad made me responsible for you. I'm acting on their behalf."

"That's not right," Maya argued. "I came this time of my own free will, and that makes me responsible for _myself_." Zekk sighed.

"If I don't agree, you'll still come, won't you?" Maya looked him full in the eye with no apologies when she nodded. "Then you'd better come in the _Lightning Rod_ where I can keep an eye on you."

*

"Are you ready? We will leave in thirty minutes," Tenel Ka told her friend. "Are you sure that you will be all right?"

"They won't let us in, you know," Jaina said, as if she had not heard what her sister-in-law had said. "The Hutts. They're so paranoid. They keep anyone who isn't a known ally as far away as possible, these days."

"I believe Anakin is taking care of that," Tenel Ka replied.

"Anakin?" Jaina was unbelieving. "I know he's the puzzle master, but how does he think he's going to convince a bunch of Hutts that we're their friends?"

"I thought perhaps it would be better not to ask," Tenel Ka replied. "We will find out soon enough." After making sure Jaina didn't need any help, Tenel Ka went outside to the _Rock Dragon_. Her grandmother had given her a brand-new ship a year ago, before she died, but Tenel Ka stuck with her trusty old ship, and the _Krayt Dragon_ remained on Hapes.

Anakin and Tahiri were discussing something while Miri looked on.

"Tahiri are you sure you won't come with us? There's plenty of room on the _Rock Dragon,_" Anakin was saying. Tahiri smiled.

"If I go anywhere, I'm going in the _Lady_," she replied. "And anyway, didn't you say that someone should stay with the kids?"

"I didn't mean you," Anakin protested.

"Well, too bad, Anakin. I volunteered. And anyway, I think your wife is jealous." She gave Miri her sunniest smile, and walked off to join Anja in the village.

Anakin glanced at Miri and gave her his best smile. Miri rolled her eyes and walked away.

*

Nova ran through the dense trees. She heard blaster fire behind her. They were catching up. She glanced back and saw a green creature right behind her. She screamed and ran faster. She tripped over the underbrush and rolled into a cove under a tree. She felt something hit her and pain shot through her before she slipped into unconsciousness.

*


	7. Chapter 6

****

See disclaimer in prologue.

Ok, here is the next installment of Misery. I hope that if anyone is following this, that it was worth the wait. I'm really sorry it took so long for me to get this one out, but I've been really busy... I know, I know, that's no excuse... :) Thanks so much to my reviewers, you don't know how much I love it when I know that people are actually reading. Keep 'em coming! Please, any new readers, feel free to drop in your two cents worth also. Now, on to what you are actually here for...

  


CHAPTER 6

Tenel Ka sat staring at Dathomir as it faded away beneath her. She sighed with relief when they shot into hyperspace right after the _Lightning Rod._ The _Lady Luck _had left the day before to secure their passage into Hutt space.

She was glad to finally be doing something. She hated sitting around and planning. She wanted to take action and she was growing very tired of watching people hurt her family.

*

Varuna the Hutt floated on her repulsor sled into her receiving room. Her guards would arrive soon with the intruder they had captured on Ylesia. T'landa Til were not very bright, but they got the job done, and hired for almost nothing, which was really all a Hutt could ask for.

While she was waiting, Varuna let her offspring come out of its pouch and wander around on the floor. Varuna was newly turned female, and had another hundred standard years before the baby Hutt reached the age of sentience and Varuna went back to being Lord of her clan instead of Lady.

Varuna was startled out of watching her offspring when the t'landa Til entered the chamber, dragging a small, bound creature behind them.

"Lady Varuna," the head said in Huttese. "We have captured the intruder from Ylesia and brought it to you for judgment." He was proud; plainly, he expected praise, and perhaps even a reward. The Hutt floated down to them to inspect their prisoner.

"You fools," she said in her booming voice. "This is nothing but a human juvenile!" It opened its eyes slowly, whatever drugs they had given it starting to wear off. It looked up at Varuna with terrified blue human eyes. About the same height as Varuna's offspring, it was much slimmer. It spoke in Basic, asking for release. Moisture gathered in its pale eyes.

"I have no use for this," Varuna said. "Dispose of it." The human understood the meaning, if not the words, and began to struggle. Lazily, the chief t'landa Til hit it on the head, knocking it unconscious. In doing so, he knocked something off its clothing.

"Bring that to me," Varuna roared. It was a black, metallic cylinder. It belonged to that human, Kanyen Elbakni, who thought he had allied himself with her clan. In reality, it would take far more credits than he had to offer to become a true and permanent ally, but it amused her to allow him his illusions, and perhaps she could get a few more credits out of him before his feeble human brain allowed him to catch on.

So how came this small human to have Elbakni's lightsaber?

"Throw it in with the human slaves," Varuna said. "If there is anything else on it, give it to me." The t'landa Til looked over her new slave and came up with two more lightsabers and a book, which was quite puzzling. Varuna tossed all of these aside to look at later when one of her many slaves came in to announce that she was receiving a holo-net message from some other human named Lando Calrissian.

*

Lando signed off, feeling pleased with his acting ability. Varuna the Hutt was expecting a couple of ships representing him to arrive in three standard days to discuss trade negotiations. But was he doing the right thing, sending his friends' kids into danger? He sure hoped so. He always had the option of calling Coruscant, of course, but then he'd have to explain himself to Han and Leia, Luke and Mara, and probably the King and Queen of Hapes. Compared to those six, whatever they faced in Hutt space would probably be downright easy.

*

Ty looked down at the new slave the guard had thrown in his cell. Child slaves usually slept five to a cell, but since Gad and Brakka had died a few days ago, he, Nara, and Dioni had plenty of extra room.

She was younger than five, which should make Dioni happy. Now she wouldn't be the youngest in the cell. The new slave had dark hair, and her skin was pale. She must have been a slave a long time, because she didn't look like she'd been outside very much. Ty had been born a slave and had not seen the sun himself in four years.

The new girl was bruised and scratched all over, so she must have been punished for something before she came to Ty's mistress. The Hutt had more painful and usually fatal ways to deal with disobedience than beating her slaves, but Ty had heard that some masters did it.

Ty didn't have a chronometer, but he knew that it was about time for his shift to start. He dragged the girl over to Brakka's old bed. Nara and Dioni would take care of her when they got back.

She looked so fragile. Ty didn't think she looked much like a slave. He hoped she would be a good slave. She wouldn't be there long if she wasn't.

*

"Ty, what are you doing? Your shift isn't over yet!"

"I finished my assigned work. Brant sent me to take the new slave to the work station."

Nova heard sounds before she opened her eyes. She didn't want to wake up. She was so tired, and she hurt all over.

"Hey, new kid, get up." Someone was shaking her. It was a boy.

"Leave me alone, Luc," she said before she remembered that Luc wasn't with her anymore. She opened her eyes. There was a boy standing over her. He had brown eyes like her brother, but while Luc's were the colour of brandy, this boy's were more like chocolate.

"You'd better get up," the boy said. Without waiting for her to do anything, he grabbed her with one hand and set her down on the floor. Nova stared at him. She was a little bit tall for her age, but he was a whole lot taller. He didn't look much older, though. There were two girls in the room who were both ignoring them. Looking down, Nova saw that all three of her lightsabers were gone.

"Where are they?" she cried. "My—" She suddenly shut up. She had to think, just like Lady Misery said. If this boy didn't know about the lightsabers, she shouldn't tell him. She didn't know if she could trust him, and even if she could, what about the two girls? And could someone else be listening? Nova decided she would keep it a secret for now.

"Come on, new kid, let's go," said the boy.

"My name is Nova. Not new kid."

"My name is Ty, new kid. Now let's go."

"_Nova_!" she insisted as she followed him out the door.

"I get it, new kid," Ty said.

"I'm Nova!" she screamed. Then she realized what he was doing. He was trying to make her mad! Well, she decided, no matter what he said, she wouldn't talk to him again. He was just a dumb boy, anyway. But then he surprised her.

"I know that, Nova." She didn't reply, but watched him out of the corner of her eye as they walked. Finally, they got to some kind of office. A droid was there.

"845-8246," it said. "This would be Mistress Varuna's new slave?" Ty nodded. "Species?"

"He's asking you," Ty said when Nova didn't answer.

"Can't he tell?" she wondered.

"Just answer him!"

"Fine, I'm _human_," Nova said.

"Gender?"

"I'm a girl."

"Female," Ty supplied.

"Number?"

"I don't have a number," Nova said.

"Who was your last owner?" Ty asked. Owner? Nova shrugged. "Are you saying you're fresh?"

"A fresh slave, 8246?" The droid's inside parts made a whirring sound. "New slave must be assigned a number. Name?"

"Nova…" Did she have a second name? It would be the same as her daddy's, but she couldn't remember that. Should she use Lord Elbow-head's name, in case he wasn't a big fat liar and really was her daddy? Would that make her Nova Elbow-head? Too late.

"New slave Nova, assigned number 847-9138. Memorize the number and report to the inner office for work detail."

"Thank you, sir registration droid," Ty said, grabbing Nova's arm. "Hope you get something good, 9138."

*

__

"Lady Misery?" Jaina looked around, almost panicking. There were so many echoes. She couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. She saw…bodies. Her entire family, from her grandfather Anakin Skywalker to the unborn daughter she carried inside.

Only Luc and Nova were still standing. Someone stood over them, wearing black Jedi robes and brandishing a blood-red lightsaber. The twins caught sight of Jaina, and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Help, Mommy!" they screamed, but Jaina could only stand, rooted to the spot, as the lightsaber crashed down, and their terrified screams were cut short.

"You see, little one," the robed woman said to nobody in particular. "Those who follow the Dark Side always win."

"No," Jaina whispered. She could hardly get the word out. She was so cold. Her breath made clouds of white, and her bare feet were almost completely numb. It began to snow, quickly covering the many bodies.

"Yes, little Solo," the woman said. "The Dark Side always wins." The lightsaber rose. "And you will never be rid of me!" The lightsaber swooped down, coming closer and closer to her face, to cut her in half. Jaina screamed—

And found herself in bed on the _Lightning Rod._ Zekk was beside her, breathing steadily. Jaina cuddled up to him and tried to go back to sleep.

*

Tenel Ka walked into the cockpit of the _Rock Dragon._ Jacen sat in the pilot's seat. He had been monitoring their progress for about an hour. Tenel Ka suspected that he had really just wanted some time alone to think.

"Jacen?" Tenel Ka walked up behind his chair. He turned and looked up at her, smiling. She sat down in the co-pilot's chair. They sat in silence for a while.

"Are we doing the right thing? I mean, should we be walking into something that could be a trap and get us all killed?" Jacen turned to face his wife. Worry was etched across his face. "What if he gets hold of Jaina again? Who knows what he would do to her!" Tenel Ka moved toward him and perched on his lap with her arms around his neck.

"What if it were Kirinna or Kassy there? Would you want to go then?"

"Yes, of course, but I'd still be worried," Jacen informed her. "You're right, as always. We can't leave Nova with _him._ It's not that I want to. She's my niece and I love her…but I don't want to lose my sister again." Tenel Ka leaned her forehead against his.

"You won't. We won't let that happen."

*

"Serving girl!" Nova stomped over to the Veubg cook.

"I have a name," she informed her.

"Not anymore," the cook said. "Now listen up. In one standard day, Mistress Varuna will be receiving human guests. I will prepare food for them, and you and one of your cell-mates will serve it."

"Why?" Nova asked.

"Because Mistress Varuna orders it," the cook said sharply. "Remember that you are a slave. You must never question orders. And Mistress Varuna's guests are always served by members of their own species. I know you are new, but you must learn all the rules, and quickly. Break the rules or make a mistake, and you likely won't live to do it again." She sighed. "Ahhh, maybe that would be best for you."

"What do you mean?" Nova asked, alarmed.

"Only that you have a pretty look. Now you must only serve and carry, but if you live to your adolescence…You may be lucky, little human, and only be made a dancer. Only to be looked at, that is the best that you can hope for. Ah, but you're far too young to know what I mean. Go on, back to your cell. Your cell-mate will instruct you in how to serve the guests."

*

Anja Gallandro walked outside to see a bunch of children playing together. Corrie was delighting his cousins and friends by doing tricks on a skimboard. He hadn't fallen yet, but Anja kept an eye on him, just in case. Only Luc wasn't playing. He was sitting by himself, staring up at the sky.

"Something on your mind, kid?" Anja asked, sitting down next to him.

"They should be getting there real soon," he said softly. "I can't wait for them to get back. I miss my sister."

"Don't worry, kid," Anja said, giving him an awkward but friendly pat. "They'll be back soon. You'll get your sister back, you'll see."

*

****

BUZZ!

Nova heard the loud buzzer that signaled the end of a shift. For every three hours that a child slave worked, they got one hour to rest. The buzzer buzzed every hour, even at night. Some people like Ty did their work at night, while most others were asleep. The slaves had to keep track of how much time had passed because if they were ever found somewhere they weren't supposed to be, they would be accused of trying to escape. Nova wondered if anybody ever really tried to escape.

"Well, playtime's over," Dioni said. She was a year older than Nova, and the one who would serve with her tonight.

"Is this going to be hard?" Nova asked as they left the cell.

"It won't be if you remember the rules. Don't talk to them unless they ask you a question, and make your answers as short as you can. And don't look at them, no matter what. I mean, even if you think it's your dad or something." Nova thought about what she would do if Lord Elbow-head showed up at dinner. "It won't be, and you'll just get in trouble. They're not allowed to look at us, either. Mostly it's annoying, not hard. 'You there!'" she cried in imitation of the guests, snapping her fingers. "'Bring me some more of that pie, and don't take your time with it. And while you're at it, bring me my spaceship. I may have left my golden toothpicks in my huge bedroom and I want you to bring me exactly seven of them. And don't upset my dog Pooksie, or she'll chew both of your arms off.'"

Nova giggled. "They can't be that bad!"

Dioni smirked. "Wait and see."

*

The _Rock Dragon _and the _Lightning Rod_ came out of hyperspace at the edge of Hutt space…right in front of a star destroyer.

"What the…?" Zekk's voice came over the _Rock Dragon_'s comm unit.

"Kanyen," Jacen stated grimly. Anakin leaned forward from the seat behind Jacen.

"I think it's about time he got what's coming to him," he said, his voice trembling with fury. Miri placed a hand on his shoulder, both calming and restraining.

"_Lightning Rod_, you go on ahead and keep out appointment with the Hutts. We'll take care of things here."

"What? Are you crazy?" Jaina retorted. "It's our daughter we're talking about! You go have dinner with the Hutts!"

"Jaina," Tenel Ka started, not at all affected by her sister-in-law's outburst. "You must think about this. It makes more sense that we go. He has too much control over you. You have not yet regained all your strength—"

"Yes, I have! I'm fine! I can fight him. I'm ready. I—"

"You have a seven-year-old child in your care." That stopped her. Jaina could never intentionally put the little girl in danger, no matter how much they both might want to go.

"You're right, Tenel Ka," Jaina agreed, though they could hear her reluctance clearly. "Just—please bring our baby back."

*

The _Lightning Rod_ lowered its landing gear and set down on the ground of Nar Shada. Jaina clenched her teeth and looked at Zekk for support.

"I hate Hutts," she muttered. Zekk squeezed her hand. They stood and helped Maya, who was supposed to be their daughter for the day, out of her crash webbing. The child had been sleeping and was barely awake as it was, so Zekk picked her up.

"Come on, Rusty," he said. "Let's get this over with."

*

The _Rock Dragon_'s passengers walked cautiously down the boarding ramp. They'd had no trouble docking with the larger ship, so they knew that they had to be careful now.

_There are no other ships in the docking bay_, Jacen thought as they walked through the ship. _Something's wrong here._ As they rounded a corner, someone stepped out in front of them.

Kanyen Elbakni. He held his lightsaber ready. Anakin noticed the bandage tied around his arm, just below the shoulder, as if he were just recovering from an injury.

_He'll have a lot more to worry about than that when I'm done with him._

Everyone, excluding Miri, raised their lightsabers, signaling the beginning of battle.

*

Zekk and Jaina strode behind their escort, Maya now walking between them. They were being taken to Lady Varuna's receiving room. She wanted to meet with them as soon as they arrived, they had been told.

They entered the room. A rather large Hutt on a repulsor sled was watching them from the other end of the room. The Hutt said something to them in Huttese. A translator droid stepped forward.

"Lady Varuna assumes that you are the humans who are here to discuss trade between Lando Calrissian's facilities and her own." Zekk exchanged a glance with Jaina and nodded confirmation. "My lady asks that you join her for dinner. She wishes to…" The droid droned on, but Jaina was no longer listening. She was watching Maya, who had wandered over to a small table and was putting something in her jacket pocket. She wanted to reprimand her cousin—daughter for now—for touching other people's things, but she was afraid to call attention to the little girl. When she tuned back in to the conversation, she realized that Zekk had agreed to dinner.

Varuna's droid opened a door and led them through it. Jaina hung back with Maya.

"What did you take from the table, sweetie?" Jaina asked. Maya reached into her pocket and pulled out the items. Jaina gasped.

__

Her lightsaber and _her_ diary.

*

They lunged and parried. Though it was three against one, Kanyen held his own. Miri stood back, watching fretfully. She knew she couldn't help, not without the force, which was out of her reach. However, she couldn't stand being helpless.

She drew her blaster. It wasn't large, just for emergencies really, and only good for two or three shots. But she could make them count.

Miri aimed, almost squeezed the trigger, then stopped. She was an excellent shot, but she couldn't risk hitting one of the others. She had to get closer.

Circling to the back, Miri thought she had a shot. But suddenly, Anakin was in front of her. Kanyen had somehow maneuvered him into that position. He was a better fighter than they had ever thought. And he was clearly not underestimating his opponents, which was the only weakness she had ever known him to have.

Miri moved away from the fight. Her blaster was useless here. Just like her.

"No!" she shouted suddenly. Just because she didn't have the Force didn't mean she was useless. Didn't she help teach the kids at the Academy? Hadn't she seen as much fighting as her friends? Hadn't she been taught by the very best? She didn't have a lightsaber, but she was a fair enough sword fighter.

Glancing around, Miri spotted a discarded metal rod. She picked it up. She saw Kanyen block Tenel Ka's lightsaber with his own while holding back Jacen and Anakin with the Force.

Repressing the urge to yell, Miri charged and—_Looks like he's swatting a fly—_

For a second, Miri didn't realize that the sound she heard was made by her body when it connected with the far wall. Then she felt it, and lay on the floor, gasping.

"Son of a Hutt!" Anakin screamed. The brothers drove their lightsabers down almost as one. Smiling evilly, Kanyen whirled around. He took Tenel Ka's lightsaber, and would have taken her head if she hadn't ducked. Miri watched the lightsaber spin gracefully through the air until it came to a stop in the shadows, dead. Continuing the motion, Kanyen slashed both Anakin and Jacen as if they were one person, beginning at Jacen's right hip and ending at Anakin's left shoulder.

They both fell.

Dimly, Miri heard Tenel Ka scream "Jacen!" and she heard more anguish, more despair, than she had ever heard before in the warrior woman's voice.

Weakly, Miri reached for Anakin. Then, darkness pervaded.

*


	8. Chapter 7

See disclaimer in prologue.

Well, here's the next chapter. Finally! I am so sorry that it took me so long, you would not believe how busy you get when you are about to graduate. LOL. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Please review and let me know how it is. Thanx.

CHAPTER 7

Maya didn't trust these people she was with. She hardly touched the food the two little slaves put in front of her. She knew she wasn't supposed to even look at the slaves, but she couldn't help noticing that they were both little girls, even younger than she was.

As she moved, Maya felt the weight of Jaina's diary and lightsaber in her pocket. They were pretending nothing was wrong, but Maya knew something bad must have happened. How else could a Hutt have gotten Jaina's stuff?

Maya risked another look at the slave girls, who kept their heads down and their eyes on the floor. Their faces were veiled, but one of them looked familiar even so. Maya couldn't think of where she'd seen her before.

* * *

Miri struggled to hold on to consciousness. She couldn't quit now. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her eyes. Tenel Ka still fought to keep Kanyen held back. He was strong, but Tenel Ka fought with new determination.

Miri crawled slowly toward Jacen and Anakin. She didn't know if she could help them, but she had to try. She reached Anakin first and collapsed against him, her energy draining. She reached her hand up and felt for his pulse. There was none.

Miri sat straight up, her heart lurching. She felt for the pulse again. There. It was there, but it was fading quickly. He was dying.

"Anakin," she pleaded. "Anakin, please." She could feel him slipping slowly away from her. "No!" Her voice broke and she lowered her head onto his chest.

_No…This is not happening. No! Not now. I can't lose him. I won't survive it._ Her whole body began to shake violently. It felt as if the whole world was coming alive around her. _I love you, Anakin. Please don't leave me!_ Suddenly, Miri felt as if something was unlocked inside her. She could feel everything around her. She began to almost glow with power.

The faintly blue-tinged core that was _her_ seemed to flicker and then burned brightly. Tenel Ka's turquoise dropped alarmingly as she kept up a seemingly impossible fight. Then she dove for her lightsaber, and Miri knew she would be all right for the moment. Jacen's emerald flickered weakly, and Anakin's—

Anakin had no power.

Forgetting her newfound ability, Miri turned all her attention to her husband. She couldn't feel him. There was no pulse.

"_No!_" she screamed. "Don't leave me! You _can't_ leave me!" She pounded on his chest. "Anakin!" she cried. "Please!" She clung to him, sobbing.

Suddenly, Miri felt dizzy. _She was in a different place. She couldn't see anything, but she felt—Anakin!_

"You're okay!" she exclaimed, and the words echoed back to her. She heard someone calling her name, but it was too far away to matter.

"You don't belong here. Go back." It was Anakin's voice.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," Miri protested. "Where are we? Where are you?"

"It is not your time. It is my destiny to go now."

"What are you talking about? Why can't I see you?" Miri cried.

"I am not_ leaving you. I am one with the Force, and the Force is life—so as long as you live, I will be with you." Realization dawned on her._

"But you can't die! You can't!" she cried. "I won't let you!"

"It has already happened. There is no going back."

"No!" Miri wailed. "I won't leave. I'm staying here with you!" A scene unfolded before her. Their bodies lying on the floor, lifeless. Jacen was lying near them, near death and semi-conscious. Kanyen and Tenel Ka were battling furiously, but it was obvious that Kanyen was winning.

"If you stay here, you will die. Go back."

"I don't care if I die!" Miri was nearly hysterical. "I won't leave you!"

"You must go back." Anakin's voice was sad. "If you die, everything will be lost."

"Why?" Miri asked hesitantly.

"Without your help, Tenel Ka will be defeated and killed. Kanyen will win, Miri. Unless you kill him now."

"But…I can't…"

"You can. You're not alone in this."

"W-will I ever see you again?" Miri asked tearfully.

"The Force is with you. I'll see you soon."

"What does that mean?" she whispered.

"I love you, Miri." Gentle hands pushed her toward her body. "May the Force be with you. Always."

Suddenly, Miri knew that she couldn't do it. She just couldn't let Anakin go. She grabbed at those invisible hands, desperate to bring him back with her, knowing that if only she could bring him back to his body, he might come back to life.

For a second, she thought she had them, but she couldn't see, she couldn't tell. Moving as if time had slowed, Kanyen began a motion that she knew without a doubt would be Tenel Ka's deathblow, and suddenly Miri was on her feet. She had lost her true love to this monster. She would _not_ lose anyone else.

* * *

Jaina took a sip of water from her glass, which was immediately refilled by one of the slaves from dinner. Jaina wished she could get a good look at them, but she knew that would be a major break of etiquette. They had most of their faces covered, anyway.

Jaina was partly tuning out the negotiations. Zekk was better at it, and Jaina knew that she would only do something stupid like make Lando pay some kind of extra tax. Zekk was handling it.

Instead, Jaina reached out with the Force. She could feel her daughter somewhere in the system, close by. The urge to go to her was almost irresistible, but she couldn't do anything—yet.

Suddenly, Jaina felt a terrible yawning emptiness inside her. She jumped, knocking over her water and startling the slaves. She had felt it before. She knew what it meant.

Someone was dead.

* * *

Tahiri, Anja, and the children were outside, playing a very disorderly game of Force tag. Although Tahiri was always friendly with the children, Anja was the one that most of them, especially the boys, seemed to like best. Luc and Corrie were ganging up on her when Tahiri suddenly froze and then sank to her knees.

"Tahiri!" They all ran over, abandoning the game. "What happened?" Anja asked, peering into her friend's sea green eyes, looking for a clue.

"I felt—a disturbance in the Force," Tahiri said shakily. Were those tears in her eyes? "Something's happened to Anakin." Jad and Corrie looked to the sky as if searching for their father there.

"My dad's okay, isn't he?" Corrie asked worriedly. Tahiri simply stared at him in distress. She wanted to reassure him, tell him yes, of course his dad was all right, but she just couldn't bring herself to lie to him.

* * *

Zekk turned quickly when Jaina jumped, meeting her eyes with a questioning look. The Hutt, the slaves, Maya, and the droid all stared.

"Lady Misery?" Jaina jumped again at the sound of the little girl's voice. One of the slaves was staring at her with such joy in her pale blue eyes that they both knew who she must be. Jaina pulled off the cloth that covered most of the girl's face. Yes. It was Nova.

"Lady Misery!" she repeated, flinging herself into Jaina's arms. Jaina held the child close, standing up to face the Hutt.

"What is the meaning of this?" Varuna bellowed.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Jaina retorted. "What are you doing with my daughter?" This drew a gasp from Nova, who tightened her hold around Jaina's neck.

"That human is my slave! I've had it for years!" The poor translator droid was having trouble keeping up. Jaina handed Nova over to Zekk.

"Maya, saber," she said urgently. "Get ready to run." Maya pulled a small cylinder out of her pocket and passed it to her cousin.

"Oh, I see how it is. Filthy humans steal my personal belongings, and now you steal my slaves as well? I will not stand for this. Guards!"

"Okay, run!" The cylinder in Jaina's hands came to life as a violet energy blade shot out form one end. Drawing his own lightsaber, Zekk shifted Nova to a more protected position and started edging toward the doors just as armed guards started pouring in from the other side of the room. Maya and the other little girl were close by his side.

"Zekk, take the girls and get to the ship," Jaina said. "I'll hold them here."

"I don't think so," Zekk replied.

"Zekk, the _children_," Jaina stressed. Maya looked out the door.

"It's clear," she said, "But we'd better hurry." Zekk put Nova down.

"Follow me, and stay close. If anything happens, girls, get to the ship _no matter what._"

* * *

"No!"

In mid-swing of his weapon, Kanyen jerked his head in Miri's direction when she screamed. The lightsaber sliced through the air an inch from Tenel Ka's scaly armor. She dropped to the ground, rolled, and came up, lightsaber in hand. If Miri had allowed herself to feel anything, she would have been glad that she had distracted Kanyen enough to save Tenel Ka, at least for the time being. But she didn't feel anything because if she did…she would think of Anakin.

There was a coldness inside her, numbing everything. She would do whatever she had to. She no longer cared for her own life, and nothing else seemed to matter much more. She only knew that she would win at any cost. All her thoughts were focused into one crystallized point: Kanyen.

"So, it looks as if you're stronger than I thought," he said, smiling maliciously. "I'll just have to try harder." He made a shooing motion. Nothing happened. Miri felt a slight pressure, small enough to ignore. He tried again. Miri was pushed back a few feet, but obviously not as hard or as far as he had intended.

"You're not trying," she observed. He hadn't used a fraction of his true strength on her.

"Very well, since you're so lonely for your precious Anakin, I'll do you a favor and reunite you. Or is it your Kryz that you want?" He waved as if backhanding her from so far away, and Miri went flying.

She managed to turn so that her feet hit the wall and not her head. It left an awful dent, and it felt like her ankle was almost broken. Ignoring the pain, Miri pushed off as soon as she hit, surprised at how easy it was to flip over and actually land gracefully in front of him.

"Enough of this child's play," Kanyen snarled, bringing his lightsaber down on her head in a blow meant to cleave her in two. Thanking her old teacher for drilling quick reflexes into her, Miri grabbed his hand just in time to stop the blade. But she knew she wouldn't last long against him unarmed.

As if reading her thoughts, Tenel Ka shouted her name and threw something to her. Doing the only thing she could think of, Miri kicked Kanyen between the legs, then pushed him away and grabbed the thing out of the air.

It was a lightsaber. Anakin's.

* * *

"Wait, I have to get something."

"Nova, come back," Zekk shouted as his daughter ran into one of the many rooms. It was one of Varuna the Hutt's receiving rooms, the one they had been in when they first arrived. Nova rushed in to the table and grabbed something. It was her lightsaber, and she would need it to help them escape. She turned to leave and saw Ty standing there. He had been in there cleaning, and was now staring at her in apparent shock.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"We're running away. Want to come?"

"Sure," he said agreeably. "What did you take off the table?"

"My lightsaber," she said, activating her little white blade. "I'm a Jedi, you know. Come on!" They ran back into the hall.

"Ready?" Maya asked with a hint of sarcasm. They continued down the hall toward the _Lightning Rod._ Then they met the first wave of guards.

* * *

Miri stared dumbly at the lightsaber in her hands. What was she supposed to do with it? _Why not use it?_ She thumbed the switch, watching the navy blue blade shoot up. Suddenly, she felt Anakin's comforting presence and nearly cried. He had put his heart and soul into his lightsaber, but she had never known that was meant literally as well as figuratively. With her husband seemingly standing right behind her, Miri felt that she could take on anyone.

Kanyen struggled to regain his strength after Miri's last blow. He struck out at her and Miri, somehow knowing what to do, spun around and struck him behind the head. The stench of flesh burning filled the air. He screamed in pain.

"You'll pay for that, you little fool!" he swore. He bore down on Miri with an attack even her newfound power could not withstand. Although he was severely weakened, he was still too powerful for her.

Driven back, Miri desperately blocked his furious blows. She had no chance to fight back. Just as she thought Kanyen might have a chance to win after all, his blood-red blade was stopped by—the turquoise of Tenel Ka's.

With a fierce grin, Miri shoved Kanyen away from her. Alone, she would fail, but together, they could beat him.

* * *

Maya stood in front of the two young children, shielding them as best she could with her own small power. Nova stood with her father, their lightsabers raised in nearly identical positions. It looked almost funny, in a way.

A dozen guards stood, blasters raised. One laughed, then fired his blaster at Nova. She easily deflected it back at him. It hit him just below the chin, and he fell.

"One down," Maya whispered. She could see the _Lightning Rod_ through the open door behind the guards. If only she could get to it! She felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Is that your ship?" the boy asked.

"Yeah. Do you know a way to get to it?"

"Sure. My job is cleaning the air vents," he said. "I know how to get anywhere from here." Maya looked around until she found an air vent.

"Okay, let's go." Just then, the other guards started firing.

"Follow me," the boy said, crawling into the vent. The little girl went next, with Maya right behind her. It was a tight fit. For once, Maya was glad she was still small. She could hear blaster bolts ricocheting off the walls behind her, and hoped one didn't manage to make it into the vent. She wished she could have brought Nova, but she couldn't leave Zekk alone and that would have drawn the guards' attention. Besides, the kid had seemed to be doing pretty well.

The three children crawled down the tunnel for what seemed like forever. Finally, Maya saw a light up ahead. They picked up their pace, and all three of them seemed to tumble out into the sunshine at the same time. Her eyes watering slightly from the polluted air, Maya ran with the others toward the _Lightning Rod.

* * *

_

"Give up, Elbakni!" Miri shouted. In reply, Kanyen charged her. Miri trapped his lightsaber, leaving an opening for Tenel Ka. She took it.

"Now you die," she said coldly.

Her lightsaber never reached its mark.

"Oh, God!" Miri moaned. "What kind of weirdo carries _two_ lightsabers?"

Kanyen had, indeed, pulled a second lightsaber from his belt. It was identical to the other one; they were probably made by some droid.

"No one can fight with two," Tenel Ka said, backing off. Miri backed off also, following her lead. She had a feeling they were about to be proved wrong.

She was right.

Kanyen attacked. He was as good with two lightsabers as he was with one. He fought Miri with his right hand, his weaker one, a fact that angered her. Even in a life-or-death situation, her stubbornness insisted that no one could go easy on her. She fought back furiously, trading blow for blow, connecting once or twice but doing no serious damage, drawing strength from her emotions. Her anger was—

_"The dark side!"_ Miri faltered. Had she really heard that whispering voice, or was it her imagination? She returned her attention to Kanyen, and realized what it meant. If she killed him in anger, she would be turning to the dark side of the Force. It was a lesson she had taught the children many times herself.

She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. When she opened them, her fury was gone.

"You lose," she said.

Miri felt the Force flowing through her. She knew exactly what she had to do. She knew instinctively that to spin and slash upward would finish it. She did, just as Tenel Ka made a cut toward Kanyen's ribcage.

Miri's lightsaber connected, just as she knew it would. She took his right arm, and a good portion of his shoulder and chest. Tenel Ka's lightsaber hit him just below the ribs, protruding from his back, and stuck for a moment.

Kanyen fell. Tenel Ka's blade sliced through his side as he pulled away, cutting through flesh and bone. He looked very surprised.

His two lightsabers, extinguished in mid-air, clattered to the floor.

The instant Kanyen was down, Miri's connection to the Force disappeared. She felt as if she had suddenly gone blind and deaf. She pressed the button to turn off her lightsaber, and followed Tenel Ka to where Jacen and Anakin were lying on the floor.

Jacen's bleeding had slowed. Miri ran onto the _Rock Dragon_ to get some bandages, and helped Tenel Ka wrap them around him. He would pull through—she hoped. They carefully picked him up and carried him onto the ship, laying him down gently on one of the bunks.

Miri took a deep, shuddering breath. Now she would have to get Anakin…She slowly walked outside and knelt beside her husband. She saw him through a haze of tears, which she tried to blink away. He was still dead. He wasn't coming back. He was gone.

She collapsed on top of him, fighting the sobs that tore through her. She ignored the blood that stained her skin and clothes. She ignored everything, trying only to find some spark of life in him. There was nothing.

_Why did you leave me?_ She wanted to scream the words, but no sound came out except for the harsh, ragged sound of her breath. _How could you leave me alone?_

Movement.

Miri jerked as if she had been electrocuted, sitting straight up with a gasp. She wiped furiously at her eyes, removing all traces of her tears, and stared at her husband. Had he moved?

No. As she watched, his body slowly melted away. His clothes deflated, now empty. Trembling, Miri picked them up and held them close to her face. The smell of him lingered, bringing the tears back to her eyes. She stood, clutching the pants and tunic, afraid they too might dissipate.

"You did well." Miri whirled at the sound of the voice, now shaking violently. She stared at the man standing before her, trying to think of something to say. The connection between her brain and her mouth seemed to have failed.

"Anakin?" she whispered finally. It was him. He was standing there in front of her, wearing his Jedi robes that as far as she knew he had worn only once before, when he was knighted. He was faintly blue-tinged and transparent. His edges glowed.

"Please don't cry for me," he said. "I told you I wouldn't leave you. Not forever."

"I can't let you go, Anakin," she said, her tears spilling over. "I love you too much! I never knew I could love anyone like I love you!" Anakin reached up as if to brush a tear off her cheek, but it passed through his finger to continue its course down her face.

"I know," he said simply. Miri tried to grab his arm, but her hands passed right through him.

"Till death do us part," she whispered. "Please don't go away. Don't leave me all alone."

"But you're not alone." His lips met hers in a kiss they couldn't feel, and she blinked as a new set of tears spilled out of her eyes. When she opened them again, he was gone.


	9. Chapter 8

**See disclaimer in prologue.**

**Here's the next installment in the saga. LOL. Sorry that it took so long, but on the bright side, it definitly didn't take as long as the last chapter did. :) That's something to be happy about right? If you have been keeping up with this story, I thank you very very much. Please review and let me know that you are here. If this is your first time, then review and let me know what you think. Thanx.**

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CHAPTER 8

"Stay here!" Maya ordered the two children. She ran to the storage cabin that held all of Zekk's extra weapons, and pressed the button to open the door.

"Please enter your password," it said.

"Dammit, Zekk!" Maya shouted, and was a little appalled at herself. She had to stop and think. Zekk must have put that password on so none of the kids could accidentally get in and shoot themselves. What would his password be? Well, that was an easy one. J-A-I-N-A.

"Access granted," the voice said pleasantly as the door opened. Maya grabbed the biggest blaster she could lift and set it for stun. Then she ran off the ship and back to Zekk and Nova.

She got there just as Nova's little white lightsaber failed. Zekk stood protectively in front of her, facing the three guards left standing. Maya was behind them, where they couldn't see her. She pulled the trigger, and one of the guards fell.

One of them turned to face her, laughing when he saw that she was just a kid. The other one kept his attention focused on Zekk. Maya took aim, trying to look like she wasn't about to wet her pants.

The guard fired his blaster at the same time Maya fired hers. She scored a direct hit, knocking him out instantly. His beam missed her by perhaps a centimeter, close enough to raise blisters on the skin, but not close enough to really hurt her. She fired the blaster at the last guard, and he fell. Zekk ran over to her and picked her up.

"Why did you do that?" he shouted, shaking her, then hugged her tight. "You scared me," he said in a softer voice. "You could have gotten hurt."

"Zekk, I know," Maya said, her voice muffled against his chest. "I could have got hurt, but I didn't. It's okay." Zekk set her down, looking her over.

"Oh no, you are hurt," he said, looking at her arm.

"It's not bad," she said. "Let's just go before more guards show up." Zekk checked outside.

"Let's go," he said. The three of them ran to the _Lightning Rod_ with no problem. But Maya could not explain why her legs were shaking so badly.

* * *

Tenel Ka left the ship to find Miri leaning against the hull, clutching Anakin's clothes and crying silently.

"Are you—all right?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.

"How's Jacen?" Miri whispered.

"He will recover, if he can get medical attention in time."

"He'll recover. That's good," Miri said. "Anakin won't."

"I'm sorry." That was all she said, but it meant more to Miri than the sympathy she knew she would be drowning in when they got home. She drew a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"Do you have any idea where Nova is?" she asked.

"I sliced into the computer files. I have an idea. Will you be all right to come, or would you rather stay here with Jacen?"

"I'm coming," said Miri. Tenel Ka nodded.

"Shall I get you one of the spare blasters?" she asked. Miri followed her gaze to the lightsaber she had clipped onto her belt without thinking about it.

"I don't need a blaster," she said. The two of them started for the corridor when Tenel Ka suddenly froze. Miri looked around. Something was wrong, but she couldn't immediately discern what it was. Then, she saw what he had missed, and felt the blood drain from her face.

Kanyen was gone.

* * *

Jaina ran down the hall toward the _Lightning Rod_, where Zekk and the children were. In emergencies, their rule was to leave after ten minutes, whether or not they were both there. If it was just the two of them, Zekk would have come back for her, but he had to take care of the children. Jaina checked her chrono and cursed. According to the rule, they would be leaving now. But Zekk always gave her an extra minute.

She had taken care of most of the guards, but some of them had escaped, along with the Hutt, who—

—Who had turned the corner just ahead of her.

Jaina skidded to a stop. "Oh, _no_," she whispered.

* * *

"Where…did he go?" Miri asked hesitantly.

"I do not sense him," Tenel Ka replied.

"You don't think he's still alive?" Miri asked. "I mean, we killed him. _Killed.__ Dead. Nothing to sense._ Right?"

"Perhaps he dissipated," Tenel Ka speculated.

"Could he?" _Like Anakin?_

"I do not remember. Jacen was distracting me with his jokes when we studied this." Miri smiled in spite of herself.

"It doesn't matter what happened to him. We should start looking."

* * *

"Hey, mister, we have to leave," Ty said.

"No, Lady Misery's not here yet!" Nova cried.

"The guards are here, dummy," Ty replied. "They'll come in here and kill us!"

"No, they can't get through the shields," Nova said. "Sir, will you do something?" Zekk, at the control panel, began the sequence for takeoff.

"Zekk, what are you doing?" Maya screamed. "We can't leave yet!"

"Maya," Zekk said. At his tone, Maya was instantly silent. "When this counter reaches zero, if I'm not back, flip this switch and press the button next to it. The navicomputer will automatically send you to Dathomir. Send out a distress call if anything goes wrong. The shields will come on automatically after I leave. If you see me or Jaina coming, turn them off for us. Maya, Nova, I love you very much. If I don't get a chance, tell Luc for me, okay?"

"Daddy?" Nova whispered.

"Really real, Novalee," he said, hugging her. "I love you."

* * *

The Solos and the Skywalkers sat in the Solo family's apartment in the Imperial palace on Coruscant. Han was confused. Leia had awoken, screaming, seemingly unseeing, and in hysterics. About five minutes after that, Luke and Mara had appeared at their door, the same distress apparent in their eyes.

Now, Leia, who had flown straight into her brother's arms when he arrived, sat with Luke on a love seat while Han sat on the couch, facing Mara, who was in a chair across from him. Han glanced from Mara to Luke and Leia, where they sat, whispering urgently to each other. Han wondered why Leia couldn't talk to him.

"What is going on here?" Han demanded. All he had been able to get from Leia was gibberish. Mara stared at Han.

"You mean you don't know?" Her eyes darted to Leia. Luke and Leia both stared back with haunted eyes. "Leia? You haven't told him?"

"Well, I—"

"He deserves to know." Leia looked at her husband.

"Han, I—" She stopped. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head, burying her face in her hands.

"What? Damn it! Will somebody please tell me what's going on here?" Han was really worried now. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Han," Luke began slowly. "We—Leia, Mara, and I—were all awakened by a disturbance in the Force." Luke choked on his words, wondering how he could possibly do this to his best friend. "It was as if there was a life presence there and then it was just…gone."

"Gone?" Han asked in a voice tight with fear. He might not have the Force, but something just didn't feel right.

"Gone." Mara picked up where Luke left off, knowing that her husband could not finish this. "Dead. Han—we think…I mean, we know…I mean—Han." Her eyes bore into his, the finality there unmistakable. Her voice dropped to a strained whisper. "It was Anakin." Leia began sobbing again. Nothing her brother could do would comfort her. Mara leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, surprised at how much this whole family, not just Luke and her daughters, had come to mean to her.

"What are you saying?" Han asked, barely controlled fury in his voice. "Are you saying that my son is dead?"

* * *

Jaina stood her ground, facing the Hutt and her guards with no fear. She held her lightsaber high in front of her, concentrating only on the Force, the light of the Force.

"You seem to be trapped, my puny little human," Varuna sneered. "Why don't you give me the children and your mate, and I might let you live."

"You will never touch my family," Jaina cried through clenched teeth. Her grip on the lightsaber tightened.

"Won't I? Guards! Destroy her!" About ten guards rushed toward her, blasters raised. She managed to deflect all the shots they fired at her, but they were closing in.

"Jaina!" She turned and saw Zekk appear out of one of the corridors.

"Zekk! What are you doing here?" she asked frantically. "Go back! The children need you."

"The kids are safe. Maya knows how to get out of here if she needs to," Zekk replied as he fought his way to her side. "_You_ need me." His danger sense flared. He spun around, trying to see where the most immediate danger was coming from. He looked up. There was one human leaning over a balcony high above their head. Was he holding a blaster? He heard two blaster shots fired; felt Jaina tense up beside him; she too knew something was wrong. But wasn't there only one? Contact. As Zekk crumpled to the ground, he realised that he should have checked behind him, too.

"Zekk!" Jaina cried, horrified. She dropped to her knees beside him, but was up again before she could check on hi, trying to keep from getting them both killed. She glanced down at Zekk and her mind filled with worry. A blaster shot grazed her arm. She cried out in pain, but then focused herself on the fight.

She let the Force flow through her. She was completely consumed by it. The guards' blasters flew out of their hands and turned to face them.

"You will not hurt my family anymore," Jaina whispered and the blasters fired. The guards fell. Jaina faced Varuna the Hutt. "If you do not want to face a worse fate than your guards, I suggest that you leave and do not try to stop us." The Hutt stared at her for a minute, then turned and floated away. Jaina held her ground until Varuna was out of sight, then rushed to Zekk's side. There was an open, gaping wound in his stomach. Jaina's heart stopped. "Zekk?" she whispered. His eyes fluttered open.

"Jaina?" She placed a hand over his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Shh…don't talk," she said, her voice choked. "Let me fix this." He raised his hand up to rest on her cheek.

"No." His voice was strained, barely audible. "You have to leave…You're wasting time. Go. The kids…get them out of here."

"No! I'm not leaving you." Jaina's vision blurred with tears. "I won't lose you again." She placed her hand under his neck and drew him close to her. Something wet covered over her hand. She blinked rapidly to clear her eyes. Blood. More blood.

* * *

Maya paced the bridge of the _Lightning Rod. Come on, Zekk. Get Jaya and _come on. She glanced at the chronometer. Almost ten minutes had passed. Maya knew that was the limit. The family's rule in case of an emergency, wait only _ten_ minutes.

The small children were huddled together, staring at her, including Nova. Maya went and knelt in front of her cousin. Being little herself, this made Maya seem shorter than the four-year-old.

"Hey, Nova. Remember me?" she asked, trying to be cheerful. Nova shook her head. "I'm your cousin Maya. Your daddy calls me Rusty." Nova giggled, and Maya tried to keep her smile. Would she ever hear that name again?

"We aren't leaving them, are we?" Nova asked anxiously. Maya's eyes filled and she lowered her head. _I will not cry..._

"I don't know, Novalee," Maya replied, unconsciously calling the little girl by Zekk's nickname for her. "I don't want to."

_I will not cry…_

"Don't be sad, Rusty," Nova said, throwing her arms around Maya's neck. Maya fell back, both from surprise and force. Much as she had always tried to avoid Jaina and Zekk's children, feeling that they were taking her beloved cousins away from her, she couldn't help liking Nova a lot just then.

Suddenly, Maya's head snapped up. Someone was calling her through the Force. That was the last lesson she had learned before all this mess had started, so she was sure.

* * *

All eyes followed Han as he stalked out of the room. Needless to say, he was not taking the news of Anakin's death well. The three left sitting remained in silence for a few seconds before Leia rose.

"I'd better go talk to him," she said, her voice shaking. Luke and Mara stood and watched her leave the room. Then Mara went gratefully into her husband's warm embrace.

* * *

Han stood staring out at the lights of Coruscant. If he had been thinking straight, he would have realised that it was past 3:00 in the morning, and he needed sleep. Of course, he wasn't thinking straight. How could he, when his own son had just died? And the worst part was, Han hadn't felt it. For all he knew, Anakin could be standing in the next room. In there with all the other Jedi.

Han felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Leia there. He put an arm around her and pulled her close. For a while they just stood there, Han looking out the window and Leia, her head resting on his chest, looking up at his face. His heartbeat sounded loud in her ears.

"Can you find the others?" he asked her.

"If I can't, I'm sure Luke can," was her tentative reply.

"Then we're going," Han said firmly. "We can take the _Falcon_."

So he wasn't a Jedi. Maybe he couldn't do anything. Then again, maybe he could.

* * *

Miri and Tenel Ka walked down the long corridor. They opened each door, finding all of the rooms empty.

"Perhaps we should check the computer again," Tenel Ka suggested. They found a terminal, and it was not long before they had sliced into the ship's files.

"This is interesting," Tenel Ka said.

"What is it?" asked Miri.

"All of the TIE fighters are gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"One went to the Alderaan system, one disappeared into hyperspace, and one went to Ylesia."

"Are you kidding? He only had three TIEs?" Miri asked.

"No. He had hundreds, perhaps thousands. They are simply not here. It would take better slicing skills than I have to see where they have gone."

"This could be bad," Miri stated.

"Extremely," Tenel Ka agreed.

"Does it say where Nova is?"

"It says cell 19492, but we have already checked there. I can sense Nova, but she is distant. It is possible that she is not even on the ship."

Miri thought. "Ylesia?"

"It is possible," Tenel Ka repeated.

"Is it likely?"

Tenel Ka considered it. "Yes," she said. "It is more likely that she is there than here." She gave a tiny half-sigh. "This would be easier for Jaina."

"We could come back later with Jaina and Zekk," Miri suggested. "I mean, unless she just magically appears on the _Rock Dragon._"

"That is highly improbable," Tenel Ka remarked.

"It could happen," Miri said. "It won't, but it could. Anyway, this is getting us nowhere. I…guess we'd better go back."

"Yes," Tenel Ka agreed. "Zekk and Jaina may be finished negotiating by now."

"If they haven't managed to blow up the planet," Miri said half-jokingly.

* * *

"Zekk," Jaina whispered, stroking his hair. She hadn't learned much in the way of healing techniques, but she could do a trance. Zekk helped by doing some of the work himself. When he was unconscious, Jaina reinforced her call to her little cousin on the _Lighting Rod_.

Maya hadn't gotten very far with this lesson, so Jaina kept it simple, using pictures instead of words. She showed Maya that Zekk was hurt, the guards were gone, and they were coming. She didn't let Maya see how badly Zekk was hurt, or how worried she was.

Jaina carefully picked Zekk up, trying to make him stay in one piece. She saw that he had stopped bleeding, which she thought must be a good sign.

"Come on, Zekk, don't die on me," Jaina begged. She draped his arm over her shoulder and, using the Force to make him as light as possible and give her the strength she needed, Jaina began the long, slow walk back to the _Lightning Rod._

* * *

In the underbelly of the star destroyer, in the corridor between the hangar bay and the ship's weapons and ship surveillance station, in a section where only one very dim and flickering glowpanel was lit, eerie shadows were cast on the unfinished durasteel walls.

And far down at one end, where there were no lights at all, one shadow moved.

* * *

Miri and Tenel Ka, together on the _Rock Dragon_'s bridge, began the startup sequence. Miri's eyes kept darting to the left, toward one passageway. A warning from the Force, or whatever it was that she had felt during the battle?

Miri resolutely pushed her doubts away. She was not a Jedi, and whatever she'd gotten was gone now. She wasn't even sure what it was, much less how to use it, or even if she could get it back.

Her fingers flew over the control panel. It was probably just her imagination, anyway. She had thought that she would never have to kill another person…that she would never lose someone else she loved…and it was just getting to her.

The _Rock Dragon_ lifted up on its repulsors. The sooner they got out of there, the better.

* * *

"Nova, go get the med kit," Maya said, her eyes on the viewport. "I think your dad's hurt, but if you get the med kit right now, you can make it better."

"Okay," Nova said solemnly, and ran into a back room, the other two children following her. Maya opened the door and ran down the ramp. Jaina was coming, half-dragging Zekk, who was unconscious and—Maya's stomach lurched—bleeding.

Maya tried to help Jaina, wishing once again that she was big. Jaina dropped Zekk as gently as she could on the deckplates, and Maya closed the door. Nova appeared with the med kit, and looked at her father with fearful eyes. Maya took her by the hand and made her sit down in the co-pilot's seat, where she couldn't see.

"Do you want me to take off?" Maya asked her cousin, her eyes drifting over to Zekk.

"Go ahead, sweetie," Jaina said in a distracted tone, pressing a self-growing bandage against Zekk's neck.

Maya scrambled into the pilot's seat, stretching her arms as far as she could to reach everything. She couldn't help being a little excited.

After all, how many almost-eight-year-olds got to fly?

* * *

Luke and Mara sat together in the _Shadow_'s bridge. Neither of them let their worry for their remaining nephew show, but each could feel the other's inner turmoil.

Han and Leia had lost two of their children now, as well as two grandchildren. Mara didn't know what she would do if Maya or the twins were ever taken from her like that. She had never been a huge fan of children, at least not until she met Leia's three, and then when she finally had one of her own…

Luke's hand slipped around her waist, and she gratefully leaned into him. Maya was going through a rebellious phase, and the twins were likely to start copying her any day now…but Mara wouldn't trade them for anything.

* * *

Maya felt the _Lightning Rod_ lift up, into space. The stars were bright around her. Up ahead, she could see a slowly growing dot that was the star destroyer. Maya squinted. What were those bright flashes of light?

"Hey, Jaya?" she called. "I think there's something wrong."

* * *

As the _Rock Dragon_ left the star destroyer, Tenel Ka found her thoughts going to Jacen. She knew that he would live—he was strong, and his injuries weren't as bad as some she had seen—but even with her habitual stoicism, her worry showed through. She found herself wanting to just get out of there so she could go to him.

Anakin…Miri couldn't go to her husband. Anakin had been her friend, and she had loved him like a brother, but she thanked the Force that it wasn't her Jacen who had been taken away from her.

Tenel Ka was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't sense any danger until the _Rock Dragon_ suddenly and violently began to shake.

"Biff a Sith," Miri snapped, sliding over to the weapons panel. "I figured that was too easy." Tenel Ka began evasive maneuvers, noticing that only one of the turbolaser clusters was firing at them. As she evaded the red bolts, she considered her options.

She had to stay until Zekk and Jaina returned. She could hold out that long. Probably.

* * *

"You three stay in here, and don't move unless we tell you to," Maya told the children, closing the door to make sure they didn't leave the room. Nova and the others were safe, or as safe as they could be. She knew that Jaina meant for her to stay, too, but she just couldn't. Not when she could help.

Zekk had put in a laser turret like the one on the _Falcon._ With a grin of anticipation, Maya began to climb the ladder.

* * *

The _Rock Dragon_ was under attack. Jaina brought the _Lightning Rod _in, banishing from her mind the images of Zekk and the children. Their lives were in her hands. She couldn't let them down.

Jaina keyed the comm.

"Are you guys all right?" she asked.

"We could use some help," came Miri's voice through the filter.

"Shields at thirty percent," Tenel Ka's voice came distantly. There was a burst of light, which played over the _Rock Dragon_'s shields.

"Make that twenty," Miri said. "We don't exactly have time to chat. Talk to you later."

"Acknowledged," Jaina said, moving in closer. She wanted to cause as much damage as she could before they escaped. Not for revenge, but just to stop Kanyen before he could hurt anyone else.

It took all of Jaina's concentration to fly the ship and work the weapons. She targeted the cluster where the blasts were coming from, but she couldn't do much against the heavy shielding.

Suddenly, a quick burst of fire joined hers from above. For a moment, she thought it came from the _Rock Dragon_, but there was no possible way for the other ship to come in at that angle. Besides, she could see it circling around her port side, firing uselessly at the turbolaser cluster. Another blast came from—the laser turret?

Jaina flipped on the comm. "Is somebody up there?"

* * *

Maya flipped off the comm, twisting in her seat to get off another shot. It wasn't that different from one of her vid games. Except that things in the game didn't move around so much. How was she supposed to hit anything with Jaina flying the ship all over the place?

Feeling a little guilty, Maya twisted around for another shot, scoring a direct hit but not getting through the shields. She knew she would be in big trouble for disobeying Jaina, but maybe if she did a really good job, she could make up for it.

She got off another shot.

* * *

Jaina noted with growing dismay that her shields were failing. One more good hit and they would fail altogether. She flipped on the comm to the laser turret again.

"You can stop now," she said. "We're going into hyperspace." Before she could hear the reply, the star destroyer gained another hit. The ship lurched, throwing Jaina from her seat. Half a dozen alarms started blaring from the control panel. Over the comm, Jaina heard a short, quickly cut off scream that faded into static.


	10. Chapter 9

**See disclaimer in prologue. It's not to hard to figure out that I don't own anything that you recognize. It's been so long since anything was added on here and I'm not sure what made me decide to start adding again, but here we go anyway. Someone please review and tell me what you think. :)**

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CHAPTER 9

On board the _Rock Dragon_, Tenel Ka and Miri saw the _Lightning Rod_ take a hit from the star destroyer and go spinning away from them. They didn't seem to be making any attempt to regain control.

"_Lightning Rod_, are you all right?" Tenel Ka asked over the comm. "Zekk, Jaina, are you there? _Lightning Rod_, please answer!"

There was no response.

* * *

Jaina didn't remember climbing the ladder. She just found herself pounding on a door that refused to open. _Hull breach._ Finally, she managed to override the safety locks and braced herself against the doorframe as the door whooshed open.

There was a rush of air into the room, escaping quickly through the large, jagged hole in the transparisteel. Jaina noticed distantly that the ship's artificial gravity had stopped functioning. She pushed herself inside, holding onto the walls to keep from being sucked out into space.

Maya was in the gunner's seat, unconscious, and barely held in place by a restraining belt that looked ready to snap. Jaina floated over to her, releasing the belt. Maya didn't stir when Jaina pulled her out of the seat. She used the seat to propel herself back into the hall, where the artificial gravity brought them gently down to the floor. The door closed behind her, sealing off the breach and stopping the flow of air.

"Maya? Honey, wake up. Please wake up," Jaina said urgently. Maya suddenly seemed so small and fragile. Her jade green eyes opened slowly, and focused on Jaina with a worried expression.

"Jaya?" she said hoarsely. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"_Lightning Rod_, come in," Tenel Ka said, simultaneously dodging fire from the star destroyer and trying to hail the _Lightning Rod_. "Zekk, Jaina, my friends, where are you?"

"I'm here," came Jaina's voice over the comm. The relief in the _Rock Dragon_ was almost tangible. "Guys, we've got to get out of here. Zekk and Maya are hurt, and I don't think the _Lightning Rod_ can handle any more damage."

"We didn't find Nova," Miri confessed. There was a pause.

"Nova's here with me," Jaina said. "We found her on Nar Shada. That slimy Hutt was keeping her and some other children as slaves."

"Get going, then," Miri said. "We'll follow you out."

"All right," Jaina said. "See you when we get home."

A few moments later, the comm came back on.

"Okay, I seem to have a small problem," Jaina said. "The hyperdrive's blown. I'm stuck here."

* * *

Jaina allowed the _Lightning Rod_ to keep spinning. If she appeared helpless, she could probably survive a little longer. She had to save Zekk and the children. She couldn't save the ship.

The _Lightning Rod_ only had one escape pod, and that not big enough for all of them. She would have to think of something else.

"You have to leave us," she told the others. "Just save yourselves. There's no other way."

"We're not leaving you!" came the indignant reply.

"I said leave!" she repeated.

"But—"

"I don't care! Just go!" She flipped off the comm.

"Jaya?" Jaina looked down at her cousin in the chair beside her. "Will we die?"

"No, Maya. I won't let you die," Jaina replied.

She knew what she had to do.

* * *

"Jaina? Jaina! Dammit, Jaina, will you answer the comm?"

Miri glanced at Tenel Ka in surprise. She had never heard the warrior woman swear before.

This was bad. Very bad.

* * *

"Maya, I want you to sit here and be very good and still and quiet," Jaina said, putting her cousin down inside the escape pod. "Do you still have my diary?" Maya nodded. "If I don't make it, give it to Zekk, okay?"

"But, Jaya—"

"No buts, Maya Jain. This time you do as I say."

"O-okay," Maya said, her eyes starting to tear up.

"Good girl," Jaina said. "I'll be back in a minute."

She went to get Zekk. She wished he was awake so she could say goodbye to him. She dragged him as gently as she could to the escape pod.

"Goodbye, Zekk," she said. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you can because this is the last time I will get to say this. I love you, Zekk. Always have, always will." She kissed him on the lips. "Sorry about your ship." She dragged him inside, arranging him as best she could in the cramped area. She kissed him on the forehead, lingering only a second, before turning to go get Nova and the others.

Jaina opened the door to the rather odd sight of three small children sitting perfectly still and silent on the bed.

"Come on, kids, it's time to go," Jaina said. They all got up.

"Is something bad happening?" Nova asked.

"No, nothing too bad," Jaina replied with a catch in her voice. "Daddy and Maya just got hurt a little bit, and I need you to take them back to the _Rock Dragon_, okay?"

"Yes, Lady Misery," Nova said.

"Your brother is waiting for you on Dathomir. You'll probably get there before I do, so tell him that I love him _very_ much. And the same goes for you. And Nova—" She bent to speak into her ear. "Call me Mommy."

* * *

"Miri, Tenel Ka, are you there?"

"We're not leaving," Miri said.

"I'm about to release the escape pod. Get it and go."

"You got it," Miri said. She and Tenel Ka waited until the tiny pod started to spin away from the larger ship, then, dodging fire from the star destroyer, they raced over to it. As soon as they heard the hollow thump as the pod attached to the hull, Tenel Ka took the _Rock Dragon_ into hyperspace.

* * *

Jaina watched them go.

Zekk and the children were safe. Now it was time.

She corrected the ship's spin, pointing toward the star destroyer. At least she could cause some damage before she went.

Jaina slowly began to accelerate. If she could just get enough speed…

She was going to die anyway. She might as well go out fighting, and maybe she could take Kanyen out on the way.

Ten seconds to the point of no return. Maybe three more before she hit. The rest of her life was now thirteen seconds long. Lucky number thirteen.

Her speed was climbing. She choked back a sob. She wasn't ready to die, not yet, but this was how it had to be.

"Goodbye," she whispered.

This was the end.

* * *

As soon as they were safely in hyperspace, Miri and Tenel Ka ran to open the escape pod. The door rose slowly and they gasped. Not only were Nova and Maya inside, but there were two other children they didn't know. Zekk lay unconscious on the only bench in the pod and Jaina…Jaina was nowhere in sight.

It was then that they noticed that Maya was crying.

"Maya, where's Jaina?" Miri asked gently. Maya struggled to make sense through her tears.

"She said I had to go. I had to protect Nova. And I had to make sure Zekk got help." She was shaking and her words were becoming incoherent. "But she's going to die, isn't she?" Her gaze locked with Miri's, fearful. "Really die! I should have stayed! I could have helped her!" She collapsed against the back wall of the pod and slid to the floor, sobbing hysterically.

Tenel Ka and Miri exchanged glances.

"There is nothing we can do for Jaina now," Tenel Ka said quietly. "We are locked on course for Dathomir." Miri nodded reluctantly. "I'll take care of Zekk and you see if you can calm Maya. I think there is something else wrong with her."

"Okay," Miri agreed. Tenel Ka raised her voice slightly.

"Nova? Will you and your friends help me with your daddy?" Nova looked from Tenel Ka to Miri and back to Maya. The girl's cries scared her but she had been nice, and Nova wasn't sure if she should leave her.

"Come on, Nova. Maya will be fine and your daddy needs you." Nova considered this and decided that even if she wasn't sure who these people were, they seemed very familiar and she was somehow sure she could trust them. Besides, her daddy needed her. She nodded her agreement to Tenel Ka.

"Come on," Nova said. "Let's help my daddy." The children followed Tenel Ka, who carried Zekk with the help of the Force, careful not to hurt him.

Miri stood and looked Maya over for a minute. The girl's sobbing had not lessened. If anything, she was becoming more distraught. Her knees were pulled up, tucked under her chin, with her arms wrapped around them. Her cries shook her whole body. It reminded Miri of herself not long ago.

Miri checked the girl over from a distance. She didn't want to get too close, yet; she was afraid that Maya would hurt herself. The young girl had a few bruises and scratches on her arms, but Miri could see no other—

A patch of blood at the edge of Maya's hair caught Miri's gaze. She walked over and knelt down in front of her young cousin.

Maya's head was down but she looked up when she felt a hand brush her hair. Miri gasped. There was more blood than she had thought.

"Maya, honey, does your head hurt?" Maya nodded, holding her breath to keep from crying, not wanting Miri to think she was a baby. Miri stroked her cheek affectionately.

"It's okay," Miri said gently. "You cry if you want to. It doesn't bother me." Maya shook her head as tears continued to trickle down her cheeks. "You know…" Miri continued. "Even my boys cry sometimes, and you know how boys are." Maya's eyes widened in surprise. Miri smiled. "They do. Even though they think they're getting too big for their mama to comfort them."

Maya was relieved to hear that she wasn't a baby, but her thoughts were elsewhere and she was lost in them until a pain shot through her arm as Miri shook it.

"Maya?"

"Ow!" Maya cradled her arm.

"What is it, sweetie? Does your arm hurt too?" Miri asked, concerned. Maya nodded rapidly. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay," Maya said, looking up at her. It was then that Miri noticed that she wasn't actually looking at her, but over her shoulder and her eyes didn't seem quite focused.

"Oh, no," Miri groaned.

"What?" Maya asked anxiously.

"Maya, grab my hand," Miri said, holding up her hand.

"Why?"

"Just do it, please." Maya tried, and she did it, barely. Her hand skimmed the left edge of Miri's and she latched on.

"Why did I do that, Miri? Why?" Maya asked, her voice on the edge of hysteria. "I reached right for your hand!" Her eyes filled with tears once again. "What's wrong with me?" Miri squeezed her hand.

"Nothing is wrong with you. You just got hurt and that's not your fault. We'll fix it. Come on," Miri said, standing. She looked down at the beautiful little girl slouched so pitifully on the floor, and wanted nothing more than to hold her tight and protect her at all costs, but she knew that Maya would not allow herself to be held by just anybody. "Is it all right if I carry you?" Maya nodded, and held up her arms. Miri slid one arm under the child's knees, and the other behind her back. She lifted her slowly, careful not to jostle her. Maya's hurt arm curled against her chest, and her other lay across Miri's shoulder.

"Do you hurt, honey?" Miri asked, carrying her into the hallway.

"Not very much," Maya replied slowly. Her head started to droop. "I don't feel very good." Her voice was almost a whisper. "I want my mama."

"Don't worry, sweetie," Miri said. "We'll take you back to Coruscant, and you can see your mom and dad, and your sisters. Won't that be fun?"

"Okay," Maya said, leaning her head on Miri's shoulder. Her eyes closed. Miri was reminded that, no matter how mature Maya acted, she was just a little girl, not that much older than her own children. They all tended to forget that sometimes. There was no way Maya should have been allowed to come on this mission.

The little girl shifted slightly, burying her face in her arm. Miri looked at her fondly for a moment, and then, she remembered something.

She couldn't let her go to sleep.

"Maya? Maya, honey? Wake up. Don't go to sleep," Miri said, shaking her just a little.

"Why?" Maya asked groggily.

"Just do this for me, okay? _Don't go to sleep_."

"I'm tired," Maya said.

"Please, Maya, do this for me," Miri said urgently. "This is very important. You _have _to stay awake."

* * *

One second to impact. Jaina shut her eyes, waiting... The next instant she was thrown from her seat. _Am I dead?_ she wondered.

No. The ship was not moving. But what had stopped it?

With a jerk, the _Lightning Rod_ started moving again, slowly, toward the star destroyer's hold. _Oh, I see,_ she thought wildly. _This is a nightmare. I'll wake up any second._ She tried to pull away from the star destroyer, but her controls would not respond. _Any second now…_

The _Lightning Rod_ landed with a slight scraping sound, and the engine cut off. Jaina was trying desperately to start it again when she felt a touch in her mind. Then it was more than a touch; there was pain, and then there was nothing.


	11. Chapter 10

**I don't own anything Star Wars...just my characters...**

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CHAPTER 10

Maya had her face buried in Miri's shoulder, her eyes almost closed. She was so sleepy. She just wanted to go to sleep.

Miri stopped, leaning against the wall, and shifted Maya to a new position, taking some weight off her hip.

"What's the matter, Miri?" Maya mumbled. "Am I too heavy? Want me to walk?"

"No way, kiddo," Miri said with a slight grunt of exertion. "You can't walk. You're hurt. Besides, you aren't that heavy. Don't worry; as soon as we get to our little medbay, I'll get you all fixed up, good as new. Better, even. Okay?"

"Mmm…'Kay." Maya's eyes closed, and she let her head droop.

"Maya?" Miri stopped. "Maya!" She gave the girl a little shake, sending a jolt of pain through her arm but sufficiently waking her up. "I'm sorry, kiddo, but you _can't_ go to sleep."

"Why not?" Maya asked, putting her good arm protectively around her injured one. Miri looked seriously into her pale little face.

"Because, Maya, if you have a concussion and you go to sleep, you might not wake up."

"You mean I can't go to sleep _ever_?" Maya asked. Miri smiled.

"No, not that long. I just have to watch your eyes for a little while. A few hours, okay? After that you can sleep for a week if you want. But not right now, okay?"

"Okay."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

* * *

Tenel Ka had laid Zekk down next to Jacen and was just re-bandaging him when Miri came in with Maya in her arms. She wished they had a bacta tank on board, but there was nothing to do about it. Nova sat, watching her, while her friends played some game on the other side of the room. 

"Maya's arm is hurt," said Miri. "She may have a concussion, too. How are they?"

"Zekk has been shot in two places," Tenel Ka said without looking up from her work. "We should return to Dathomir before he is in any serious danger of dying, though I imagine he must be in a lot of pain. We don't have enough painkillers to last all the way back, so I gave them both small doses and let them stay in deep trance." She avoided directly mentioning Jacen, trying not to make Miri think of her own husband. She pulled the bandage tight across Zekk's stomach; he groaned softly, but his trance was too deep for him to react otherwise. Tenel Ka finally turned her eyes on the pair, speaking now to Maya. "We don't have any painkillers that will not put you to sleep, so you will have to endure your pain for now. Can you?" Looking a little sick, Maya nodded. She looked at Jacen and Zekk, on the table.

"Where's Anakin?" she asked softly.

Miri's breath caught sharply and she put Maya down as gently as she could, then turned away. Maya looked at her, curiosity mixed with alarm. Tenel Ka took the girl's hands.

"We were fighting the man who stole Jaina," she said in a voice no one but her daughters had ever heard. "We fought him as hard as we could. We thought we'd stopped him—maybe we did and maybe not. But in the process, Jacen and Anakin were injured."

"Was he hurt bad?" Maya whispered.

"He didn't make it," Tenel Ka said, knowing how her words hurt them all. "He died."

"But not really," Maya said quickly. "He couldn't really die. It's just like with Jaya, right?"

"Maya, we saw him die. We felt him."

"But—he couldn't really die!" She was crying again. "People don't really die. Why would you let him?"

At that, Miri's tears broke free, and she fled the room.

* * *

Miri leaned against the wall in her cabin, sobbing, letting out all the emotion she had been holding in since the fight. 

_People don't really die. If only eight-year-olds ran the universe.

* * *

_

Jaina opened her eyes slowly; the pain in her head sharpened, then faded to a dull throb. She tried to raise her hands to her head but couldn't. Her wrists were bound by a glowing blue cord that numbed her arms up to the shoulders. Her ankles were bound the same way.

She raised her head. She was inside a glass tube, suspended in midair, a few inches off the floor. She recognized the place. It belonged to Lord Elbakni.

Her thoughts seemed to conjure him.

"I know you were eager to come back to me, darling, but you didn't have to come in quite so fast," he smirked. If he had been closer Jaina would have tried spitting on him.

His right arm was heavily bandaged, and his lower half was encased in a metal hoversuit. His hair was wet with bacta.

"You've been injured," she said. "I hope it hurts."

He made a motion with his left hand, and the glass tube slid up into the ceiling. He lifted his hand, and she was pulled to him by the cord around her wrists. His hand closed around her throat, painful, but not quite choking her. Her legs wouldn't hold her weight.

"There is no need for such a brave front, my lady," he whispered. "No one is coming to rescue you. Everyone thinks you're dead. You saw to that yourself. Even if anyone does come for you, I will kill them, slowly, while you watch."

"Why?" Jaina asked. _Why?_

"Because you're mine." He kissed her, pressing her body against his with the Force. She wanted to throw up. That would teach him a lesson, wouldn't it?

He let her go suddenly, and she collapsed on the floor at his feet. Kanyen sneered at her again.

"You fall at my feet already?" The cord around her wrists jerked her to her feet. "It's a good start, but I hope I can teach you a few more tricks. And Jaina—" He curled his fingers, pulling her closer. "I'll see you later." He hit her, and she felt blood start to trickle from the corner of her mouth. Then he sent her back across the floor to her glass prison.

* * *

Anja paced back and forth across the room for the hundredth time, or so it seemed to her. She patted the screaming baby's back gently. 

"Come on, Lei, darling, stop crying now," Anja pleaded. The baby felt like lead in her arms.

"Want me to take her for a while?" Anja glanced over to see Tahiri standing in the doorway.

"Sure," Anja agreed readily, handing Lei to her. "I think she likes you better, anyway." In Tahiri's arms, the baby's screams lessened in their intensity until she was just making small, whining, hiccupping sounds.

"That's because you're my buddy, aren't you, baby girl?" Tahiri said to the baby.

"No," Lei said mournfully. Tahiri raised her eyebrows.

"That's not what you said yesterday."

"She's very argumentative, isn't she?" Anja said. "Do you think she could have felt…well, what you did?"

"That would explain why she's suddenly not Miss Sunshine and Happiness anymore."

"No," Lei said again. Tahiri rubbed her back, rocking slowly back and forth.

"I know how you feel, baby," she whispered.

* * *

Miri returned to the medbay once she had gotten control of herself. Tenel Ka left to fly the ship, and the three children followed her. Miri checked on Jacen, then Zekk, then finally turned her attention to Maya. 

"I'm sorry," Maya said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset at you," Miri said. She checked the sling Tenel Ka had put Maya's arm in, and decided that she couldn't improve it any with what they had on hand. "I know you didn't mean it. Oh, Maya, please don't cry!" Tears were gathering in the little girl's eyes again.

"Why did he die?" she asked.

"I don't know," Miri whispered. "I don't know why anybody dies."

* * *

Kanyen came again, walking now, but with a severe limp. He was still heavily bandaged, and his hair was wet again. 

Jaina Force-blasted him, and he turned it back on her, slamming her into the glass wall. It didn't crack. It was too thick.

"Naughty girl," he said, shaking his head. He placed his hand against the glass. "That wasn't a nice thing to do." His hand was shooting out sparks. Jaina braced herself for an attack, but for the moment none came.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked when the silence had stretched on for a while. Kanyen smiled.

"Not unless you ask me to."

"Go ahead," she said. "Do it."

"That's telling, not asking." He curled one finger and she jerked forward, slamming into the glass again face first. Kanyen leaned forward, his breath clouding the glass. "You should learn some humility."

He released the energy he had collected in his hand. Black lightning coursed through Jaina's body, bouncing off the glass walls and back into her. He wanted to make her scream. She did.

* * *

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. Birds were singing. A soft wind made ripples in the grass. And Luc didn't care. 

He was sitting with Anja—he had been with Tahiri, but she kept trying to cuddle him.

"You okay, kid?" Anja asked.

"I wish Mommy and Daddy would come back," he said. He started to say something else, but stopped when Corrie wandered over and plopped down at their feet.

He gave a deep sigh and lay back, spreading himself all over the ground. "Are they back yet?" he asked.

"Sorry, junior, not yet," Anja replied, tapping the top of his head with her bare foot. Corrie pretended she had hurt him, holding his head and rolling around dramatically on the ground.

Then he stopped.

"Look," he whispered, pointing up at the sky. "Look!" Luc looked.

"Daddy! Mama!" He recognised the _Rock Dragon_ speeding toward them. "Where's the _Lightning Rod_? Where…where is it?"

* * *

Tenel Ka brought the ship down toward the planet. Nova and her friends, while not exactly being still and quiet as she had told them to be, were at least being calmer than she knew small children could be. 

"We are about to land," Tenel Ka said. Her niece looked up at her, excitement lighting her face.

"Is Luc here?" she asked.

"He is. You will see him very soon."

"Can I get out of my seat now?" she asked.

"Wait until we have landed," Tenel Ka said. Impatient, Nova slumped down in her seat. "Only a few more minutes," Tenel Ka added, then turned her attention to the landing.

* * *

Corrie and Luc ran towards the landing pad. As they crossed the field, they saw Kirinna, Kassy, and Jad running from another direction, Tahiri following behind them with Lei. They reached their destination, out of breath, as the _Rock Dragon_ set down on its repulsors. 

They waited impatiently until the ramp lowered and the hatch opened. For a moment, no one moved. Then, Tenel Ka appeared in the doorway with a slight smile on her face.

"Mama!" Kirinna and Kassy cried and dashed up the ramp. Tenel Ka knelt and caught them as they flew into her arms.

"Hello, my darlings," she said, holding them close in a display of emotion that she rarely showed in public. Just then, someone else appeared behind them.

"Nova!" Luc ran up the ramp and pushed past his cousins and his aunt to get to his sister.

"Hi, Luc!" she said, grinning. They hugged each other.

"Is Mommy and Daddy here?" Luc asked. Nova lost her grin.

"Luc," she whispered, "do you know about them?" Luc nodded.

"I know it all."

"Well," she said solemnly, "Daddy's here, but he got hurt really bad. He's sleeping."

"Where's Mommy?" he asked, afraid of what she would answer.

"She stayed on the ship 'cause she was fighting stupid Lord Elbow-head."

"She's okay though…right?" No one answered.

The others had followed Luc up the ramp at a slightly slower pace. Tenel Ka stood, picking up both her daughters.

"Are my mom and dad here?" Corrie asked, wondering why they had yet to make an appearance.

"Your mother is in the back—" Without waiting to hear what else his aunt had to say, Corrie disappeared inside the ship, Jad trailing behind him. "Come along," Tenel Ka said to those who were left. "There is much you need to know."

* * *

Miri stood looking down at Maya. The little girl had drifted off to sleep, and she was so exhausted that Miri didn't have the heart to wake her up again, even though Maya would be disappointed at missing the reunion. 

"Mom? Mama?" She raised her head. That sounded like Corrie's voice.

"Mama?" The second voice, quite a bit quieter and unsure, was unmistakably Jad's. Miri rushed out into the hall and saw them coming towards her.

"Corrie! Jad!" she exclaimed, pushing back sudden tears at how much she wished that Anakin was standing there with her to greet their children.

"Mama!" They slammed into her and she fell back against the wall, laughing. She slid down to the floor and wrapped her arms around them, holding them as tightly as possible.

"We missed you, Mommy," Jad said into her hair.

"Me too, sweetie. I missed you guys so much." She didn't realise she was crying until Jad reached up to touch her wet cheek.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm just so glad to see both of you." She drew a deep breath to stop her tears. "Where's your sister?"

"She's with Tahiri, cause she won't let nobody else hold her without crying," Corrie said. "So Tahiri takes care of her."

"Oh…well…" Miri's stomach knotted. She hated the thought of anyone but her having to take care of her baby for so long.

"Where's Dad?" Corrie asked.

"I…"

"Hey, Miri, I've got someone here who might want to see you," Tahiri said, coming around the corner of the hallway. She held Lei in her arms. The baby had a smile on her face and looked happy to be where she was. Surprisingly, it did not anger Miri that her daughter felt so comfortable with someone who, in some ways, she considered her rival. Instead, she was grateful that someone had been there for Lei.

"Lei-Lei, look, there's your mommy," Tahiri told the baby when she stopped in front of Miri.

"Mama," Lei said knowingly. Miri smoothed the boys' hair and stood up slowly.

"Hey there, baby girl," Miri said, holding out her arms. Lei lunged toward her mother. Miri held her close. She looked at Tahiri for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Thank you," she murmured finally.

"For what?" Tahiri asked, confused.

"For everything. I was so worried about leaving her. We've never been apart so long." Miri gave a sad sigh and smiled. "I can see that I had no reason to worry. She was in good hands." Tahiri shrugged and looked uncomfortable with the praise.

"Listen, Miri—" she started.

"No, wait. I need to say this to you." She glanced down at the boys, who were staring up at them with wide eyes. Then she forced herself to look back at Tahiri. "I owe you an apology. A big one. I have been nothing but rude to you since we met. You didn't deserve that, and I'm sorry. If you don't totally hate me, I was hoping we could be friends." Tahiri smiled.

"I would like that," she said. "And I never hated you, I just stayed out of your way because you never seemed to like me very much." Now Miri had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Oh, well…it wasn't that I didn't like you, it was just that…oh, I don't know."

"You were afraid I was going to steal him?" she asked. A week ago, she would have laughed as she said it.

"I guess it was something like that, but not really. I trust Anakin. I guess I was just…jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?" Tahiri was shocked. "What could you possibly be jealous of? I mean, come on, you married the man. You share a child. He loved you, everyone could see that."

"He loved you, too. And you know him so much better than I do. There are so many moments of his life that I know nothing about, and you were there for all of them. So many memories you have that I don't." Miri sighed. "And you were together, once."

"Of course I know things that you don't. We grew up together. But you can't help it that you haven't known him as long. Besides, I'll bet there are thousands of things you know about him that I don't. You know what he looks like when he's sleeping. You know how long he cooks his eggs. You know how he acts with his children when there's no one else around. All I know is what he showed me, as his best friend. And trust me, it didn't take us long to figure out that we were nothing more than that."

"Acted," Miri whispered. "I know how he acted." They both seemed to stop breathing.

"Then it's true." Now that Miri had said it, she knew it had to be.

"Where is Daddy?" Jad asked.

"Yeah, I want to see Dad now," Corrie added. Miri studied the boys for a minute, considering.

"Miri," Tahiri said in a very low voice. "Please. What happened to him?"

"Da," said Lei. Miri put her face down against her daughter's shoulder, taking a moment to force back the tears that wanted to come. Then she lifted her head and spoke in an almost normal voice.

"We were fighting against Kanyen Elbakni. Your dad was very brave," she said, speaking to the boys now because they were easier to face than Tahiri. "He got hurt."

"Bad?" asked Corrie.

"Yes," said Miri. "It was very bad."

"Did he have bacta?" Jad asked in a small voice.

"No," Miri said, shaking her head. "We couldn't give him any bacta."

"Is he on the ship?" Corrie's reaction was the opposite of his little brother's; he was almost yelling at her.

"Dad isn't coming back," she whispered.

"He went away?" Jad asked.

"Why?" Corrie added. Miri tried to answer, but couldn't find any more words. Tahiri knelt down.

"Your daddy didn't want to leave you," she said. "He's one with the Force now, and he didn't have any control over when he had to go. You'll be with him someday, when it's your time to be one with the Force."

"I don't _want_ to be one with the Force!" Corrie yelled. "I want my dad!"

"Daddy," Jad agreed, and burst into tears. Lei, startled, started to cry too, clinging to her mother. Miri sat down on the floor, and her boys rushed to hug her and the baby.

"Don't cry," Miri whispered to them, as their tears mingled with her own.


	12. Chapter 11

**As always, I don't own Star Wars or anything to do with it, except the characters I created of course. And even those are joint ownership. Please take pity on me and review and tell me what you think.**

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CHAPTER 11

Jaina tried to lean against the glass to ease the ache in the back of her neck caused by being vertical for so long. She couldn't tilt that far with her feet locked in place.

She needed to sleep, but she was afraid Kanyen would come back. She hadn't been very successful at defending herself, but she would be completely helpless if he came while she was sleeping.

Jaina closed her eyes. If she could just rest a moment…

She woke to the feeling of one finger tracing a line across the curve of her stomach. With a gasp, she jerked away. She was on the floor, and Kanyen was bending over her.

"You're pregnant." His voice was so gentle she immediately expected a trap.

"What's it to you?" she asked, her voice hoarse. Kanyen stood, looking down at her with an expression she couldn't interpret.

"You've lost the twins for me," he said. "Now I need an heir."

"No!" Jaina gasped, trying to cover her stomach…but she couldn't move her arms.

"Will you be my Lady Misery again?" The unspoken end to that question was, 'or do I have to kill you?'

Jaina looked up at him, trying to control her shaking.

"Again?" she whispered. "Who else would I be?"

Smiling, Kanyen raised his hand, and she was lifted to her feet. He pulled her close against him, his hands on her shoulders, hers trapped against his stomach. As his lips met hers, Jaina dug her fingers into the center of his bandage. Kanyen cried out in pain, letting her go. She fell, but kept her fingers in the hole she had found, ignoring the blood that began to run through the bandage and down her hands. He grabbed her wrists, which were numb, and tried to pull her hands away. Something snapped, but Jaina didn't feel it. Using something she had learned from Tenel Ka, she used her stomach muscles to propel herself upward, hitting Kanyen's chin with her forehead.

She managed to twist her body so that he fell with her on top of him. She dug her fingers deeper into his wound and, using her only other weapon, bit his cheek as hard as she could.

"Bitch!" he shouted, and she was lifted into the air and dropped ungently several feet away. Kanyen stood, one hand clutching his stomach, the other on his cheek. "Bitch!" he repeated, kicked her, knocking the breath out of her.

She laughed harshly.

"I thought you were the manipulator, not the gullible one."

He kicked her again, sending her sliding a few inches across the floor.

"I am in control here," he said. He lifted her up and flung her back into the glass cage. She hung suspended for a moment, then he snapped his fingers and she fell to her knees, cracking her forehead against the glass before she could catch herself. "I'm afraid I haven't been a very good host. You haven't had anything to eat or drink since you got here. Are you thirsty?"

As he spoke, a stream of cold water trickled down from somewhere above her, splashing her boots. Jaina managed to turn herself around, then leaned forward as far as she could, her legs bending farther than they were used to. As the first drop of water touched her parched lips, the stream cut off. Jaina leaned back, breathing heavily, while Kanyen laughed.

"See?" he said. "I'm in control."

"You're nothing but a little boy," said Jaina. "Grow up."

"You've made a good toy, Jaina, but if you're no fun to play with anymore I can always get another one. Your sister-in-law is very pretty. I especially like the way her tears moved down her face after I killed Anakin." Jaina hurled a table at him, and he deflected it. She threw it at herself, trying to break the glass. It dropped to the floor as he sent a shock of pain through her head. "There's that old feisty spirit," he said, using a tone she had often heard from Jacen when she didn't laugh at one of his jokes. "I don't want your friends. You know I only love you."

"You sure have a great way of showing it," Jaina said, closing her eyes. Distantly, an alarm started blaring. Kanyen snapped his fingers, and Jaina felt herself lifted into the air again.

"I have to take care of this," he said. "I'll be back. Don't go anywhere."

* * *

"Proximity alert," said Leia. "We're about to be pulled out of hyperspace." 

"That's what happens when you put random numbers in the navicomputer," Han teased. The _Falcon_ shuddered as it pulled back into realspace, the _Jade Shadow_ close by. The object that had pulled them out of hyperspace was a star destroyer, Imperial class.

"It wasn't random…" Leia murmured, her eyes going unfocused.

Luke's voice came over the comm. "Do you feel it?"

Leia's eyes refocused, and she looked at her husband.

"Land. Inside. Now."

"What is it?" Han asked, already bringing the ship into the open docking bay.

"Jaina."

"Jaina? She's here?"

"Yes," Leia said, her voice tight. "She's in pain. Where's my lightsaber?"

* * *

Luke and Mara ran down the _Shadow_'s landing ramp just as Han and Leia left the _Falcon_, holding a blaster and a lightsaber, respectively. All the Jedi felt the reverberations of pain with only one possible source—Jaina. 

"You're her mother," Mara told Leia. "Your connection is strongest. You lead the way." Leia hesitated, then nodded.

"This way," she said.

The four of them walked, Jaina's presence—and pain—getting stronger with every step. There was something else, not far from her, something familiar and yet not. It was dark, and it was coming to them.

They came to a place where the corridors branched. Leia couldn't tell her daughter's exact location; her senses were blunted by the shared pain and Jaina's disorientation. As for the darkness, it was everywhere.

"Which way do we go?" Leia asked, deferring to those who knew the Force better than she did.

"I think we should split up," Mara said. "That way we'll have a better chance of finding Jaina, and if…something happens…" She didn't know how to put her feelings into words, but Leia nodded.

"We'll keep in contact." She led Han down the right corridor, while Luke and Mara took the left.

* * *

Leia stopped suddenly. Han almost ran into her. 

"What is it?" he asked, keeping his voice low. Leia's eyes closed in concentration.

"She's on the other side of the wall," she said, placing her fingers against the steel. "There's no door on this side."

"Then how do we get in?" Before he finished the sentence, she had her lightsaber on and plunged into the wall.

"It's too thick," she said. "My lightsaber doesn't go all the way through." She let go of the handle, and the saber didn't fall. "I don't know what kind of metal this is, but it's resisting the blade. Help me make a hole." The two of them together pulled her lightsaber through the wall in a rough circle. Then Leia took her blade back. "Stand clear."

She blasted the edges of the circle as hard as she could, sending the chunk of metal crashing to the floor. Leia climbed into the room beyond, followed by Han.

It was dark. The only sources of light came from the open door on the other side of the room, and a glass tube in the center in which their daughter hung, unmoving. Her head was down, her hair spilling across her face. She didn't seem to notice that they were there.

Leia looked for a way to open the tube and, not finding one, slashed a hole with her lightsaber.

As the blade touched the glass, Jaina looked up. Her expression was first frightened, then shocked.

"Mom?"

Leia stepped back. A circle of glass fell at her feet, not breaking. Han stepped on it and reached in to his daughter. She was weightless at first, but once outside of the tube she collapsed against him. He laid her gently on the floor, supporting her head against his knees. She didn't seem to be able to sit up on her own. Leia knelt on the other side of her, gently touching the corner of her mouth, where there was a bit of dried blood.

"You came for me," Jaina whispered. Leia activated her lightsaber again, cutting away the cords that bound her daughter's hands and feet. Jaina choked back a cry of pain, finally feeling the wrist that had been broken.

"Who did this to you?" Leia asked furiously. Jaina's answer was barely a whisper.

"Kanyen."

* * *

Luke entered a room at the end of the corridor, followed by Mara. Their lightsabers were the only illumination. Chained to the opposite wall was a dark-haired young man, his head down, apparently unconscious. It took Luke a moment to recognise him as his niece's friend, Kanyen. They had disappeared together. Was he alive? Luke knelt and extended his hand, reaching— 

_LukeKanyenJaina!_

At his sister's mental touch, Luke jerked back, rocking back on his heels and then to his feet, his lightsaber swinging down in time with Mara's. At the same instant, Kanyen's hands slipped out of the chains that hadn't really held him. Lightning arced from his right, striking Mara and knocking her back, while a lightsaber leapt from the floor into his left and came up under Luke's blade.

"You're slipping," Kanyen said, attacking before Luke had a chance to regain his balance.

* * *

"Get her back to the _Falcon_," Leia told her husband. "Luke and Mara need help." She stayed just long enough to make sure that Han would be able to get their daughter to safety, then disappeared, the ruby light of her lightsaber bouncing off the walls and fading out as she ran. 

"Can you walk?" Han asked his daughter, who was leaning heavily against him. She nodded, but didn't let go. One arm around her waist, Han helped her as much as he could.

* * *

Kanyen had not overestimated his own abilities. Ordinarily, he would not have been a match for either of them, but he was drawing heavily on the Dark Side. He was holding them off, and might even have a chance of winning if they weren't careful. 

And then Leia arrived.

* * *

Han sat his daughter down in the pilot's seat of the _Millennium Falcon_ and left her for a moment. He returned with a glass of water and some of the fruit Leia insisted on stocking the _Falcon_ with; it was the only fresh food they had. Jaina took it gratefully, draining the glass in a single gulp. Her arms and legs were working better now. 

"Are Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara here?" she asked around a mouthful of fruit.

"Yes," her father said, taking a seat beside her. "We left together, when they felt Anakin…This time they could follow Jacen to get to the right place…Jaina, tell me, is he…?"

"I don't know, Dad," she said. "I wasn't there. I think so." She glanced away from him and her eyes focused on something outside. "Who else is here?" she asked.

"No one," said Han.

"Then whose ship is that?" He looked out the viewport. There was another ship, a small one that blended into the wall on the far side of the bay. It was easy to overlook, hidden in the shadows.

A beeping sound started, making Jaina sit straight up.

"Sithspit!" she said, knowing what it meant. "That Hutt's tail set the star destroyer to explode!"

* * *

They were beating him. 

Then the beeping started and, smiling, Kanyen stepped back to the other side of the doorway just as it slammed shut, automatically.

"I took the liberty of setting my little ship to self-destruct before you arrived," his voice said through a set of speakers. "I hope you enjoy the fireworks."

Together, the three of them drove their lightsabers into the door, cutting a hole. It was slow work; the door was the same material as the wall that had blocked the way to Jaina.

They cut through, only to find another door blocking their way.

* * *

Kanyen returned to Jaina's cell, eagerly anticipating the way she would look when he told her the good news. 

His smile turned into a glower of rage when he saw the hole in the empty glass tube.

* * *

Jaina ripped out the wires connecting the starter of Kanyen's little ship to the engine and stuffed them in her pocket, then walked down the ramp as fast as she could—which wasn't very fast, considering how weak her legs still were. 

The _Falcon_, where her father was waiting with the engine ready to take off as soon as she returned, suddenly looked very far away. She was beginning to wish she hadn't convinced him to let her go instead of him. The _Lightning Rod_, on the other hand, was much closer.

Jaina climbed the ramp to her own ship—half hers, anyway. She was about to call the _Falcon _when the comm came to life.

"Are you all right?" her father's voice asked.

"I'm fine," she said, although she wasn't doing quite that well. She tried to turn it into a joke. "Zekk would kill me if I left his ship." Looking out the viewport, she saw her mother and her aunt and uncle heading for their own ships. "See you on the other side, Dad." She started the engine and floated out with the _Falcon_ and _Shadow._ Glancing back, she saw Kanyen diving for his now-useless personal ship, and smiled.

Her smile faded when she remembered that without hyperdrive, she wasn't much better off than he was.

"I have a problem," she said over the comm frequency that would reach both other ships. "My hyperdrive is blown."

"Can you come over in the escape pod?" Mara asked.

"It's gone," said Jaina. There was a moment of silence.

Then, Han said, "Does the _Shadow_ have tow cables?"

"We do," his brother-in-law affirmed. "Can we pull it off?"

"It'll be tricky," Han said.

"What is it, Dad?" Jaina asked.

"Stabilise the _Lightning Rod_ as much as you can," he said. "We're going to hook you with the cables and pull you into hyperspace behind us."

"Will that work?" Jaina asked skeptically, already moving by habit to pull her ship to a stop.

"I've heard of it working before," Han said, almost guiltily. "Of course I heard it from the same guy who claimed he beat my record for the Kessel Run, so I'm not sure it was true."

Jaina took a deep breath. "Okay, Dad. I'm ready." The _Falcon_ and the _Jade's Sabre_ came about and aligned themselves on either side of her. Han's voice came faintly over the comm, telling Leia to help steady the cable. It was followed by a hollow _thud_ as the cable attached itself on the _Lightning Rod_'s hull. A moment later there was a second thud as the _Jade's Sabre_ attached its own cable. The other two ships began to move very slowly, testing the cables to make sure they had attached right.

"Where are we going?" Luke asked.

"Dathomir," said Jaina. "That's where everyone else is. Even Luc and Nova." There was another moment of silence.

"Dathomir it is."

* * *

Leia's hand hovered over the button that would send them into hyperspace. She was linked with her brother, who would be in the same position in the _Jade's Sabre_. Their timing would have to be perfect. If there was a half second of difference, the _Lightning Rod_, and possibly the other two ships as well, could be torn apart. 

"Ready?" Luke asked.

"Ready," Leia replied.

"Mama, I love you," Jaina said suddenly.

"I love you too, baby." She pressed the button.

* * *

The ships began to move. The _Lightning Rod_ gave a jerk as the other two ships pulled it from a cold stop. For a moment, Jaina actually thought they were going to make it. 

Then she felt the touch in her head, along with the very clear thought, _If I can't have you, no one can!

* * *

_

The star destroyer exploded behind them as the ships entered hyperspace. At the same time, there was a flash of severe pain from Jaina, and then she simply disappeared.

Mara almost reached for the comm, but remembered that it wouldn't work. Instead, she reached out with the Force. They were all right, and she could feel Han and Leia on the _Falcon_, so they had made it too. But Jaina…

Mara looked at her husband to see a similar expression of worry on his face. He had felt the same thing.

* * *

"Jaina!" 

"What?" Han put his hands on his wife's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "What happened?"

"Jaina! I felt—she—" Leia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from shaking. "Something happened to Jaina when we jumped. She was afraid, and then she was in pain, and then it just stopped. I can't find her, Han! I can't _find_ her."

Han put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. They couldn't lose their daughter, not when they had just found her again, not so soon after their son…Not ever.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," he told her. "Jaina's tough, she's resourceful, she's smart. Hey, the kid grew up with me as her dad. She'll be okay." His attempt to draw a smile failed.

"We can't call her, can we?"

He shook his head. "We don't have what we need to talk through hyperspace."

"Well, I suppose you're right," Leia said, peering anxiously out the viewport, where all that could be seen was pale blue hyperspace. "She is your daughter."

"She's yours, too."


	13. Chapter 12

**I don't own Star Wars...as if you didn't all know that. Here's the latest. Please please please review and tell me what you think. Pretty please. I will love you forever if you do. It doesn't make you want to post anymore chapters when you think no one likes it...:(**

**Anyways...Happy Reading:)**

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CHAPTER 12

"Leaving hyperspace," Leia said to her husband. The _Falcon_ and the _Shadow_ entered realspace together near the planet of Dathomir. "Where's Jaina?" Leia asked immediately, and the question was echoed by the _Shadow_.

"_Lightning Rod_'s intact," Han said, trying the comm. "Jaina? Jaina?" He looked at his wife. "She's not answering."

"I feel her," Luke said over the comm. "She's in a healing trance, poor kid. It feels like she's just coming out of it."

"Will she be able to land on her own?" Leia asked.

Luke replied, "I think she'll be fine."

* * *

The twins watched the three ships land in the field beside the _Rock Dragon_ and the few other ships.

"That's the _Lightning Rod_…and…the _Falcon_…and…the _Shadow_?" Nova said. Luc nodded confirmation. Since her daddy wasn't strong enough yet to bring back her memories, Nova shouldn't have remembered, but just being around her twin seemed to be bringing them back through their link.

They watched as their grandparents left the _Falcon_ and their aunt and uncle left the _Shadow_, all going into the _Lightning Rod_. A moment later, they all emerged, supporting someone between them.

"_Mommy_!" the twins shouted together. Holding hands, they ran across the grass toward her, not breaking apart until they finally reached her. Jaina went to her knees, her arms outstretched, and the children gladly ran into them.

"My babies," Jaina cried, kissing them both. "Oh, my babies."

"Don't ever go away again, okay, Mommy?" Luc said.

"Never," Nova added.

"I don't ever want to leave you," Jaina told them. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I know just how you feel," Leia said. Jaina tried to stand, but couldn't do it. Reluctantly, she removed her children's hands from around her neck.

"I can't carry you guys," she said. "You're so big." Nova lifted her arms to Leia instead, and Luc turned to the man he had been named after. Mara and Han helped Jaina stand, and they resumed their journey back to the village.

"Where is everyone?" Jaina asked the children.

"Daddy's having bacta," said Nova.

"Nobody can play with us," Luc complained. "Even Maya, 'cause she hit her head. But she said as soon as she feels okay, she wants to go play outside."

"Everybody's in the med building," Nova said. "Right here." She wiggled out of Leia's arms and slid to the ground, along with her brother. They had reached the building. Luc pulled the door open, straining to get it to move.

"Jaina!" At the other end of the hallway, Miri had been standing outside one of the rooms. Now she broke into a run, reaching her sister-in-law quickly. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am," Jaina said. "You know I can take care of myself." She looked at her parents and her aunt and uncle. "…with a little help."

"That's my daughter," Han said.

"She sure is," Leia agreed, prompting a quick kiss. The mood quickly turned serious again as Leia looked to Miri and asked simply, "Anakin?"

"He's…gone." She was fighting tears, and from her red eyes, this wasn't the first time she'd wanted to cry.

* * *

"Naw, you didn't," Corrie was saying. He was the first to disbelieve Maya's story.

"I did too!" she exclaimed. "Ask them, they were there."

"Uh-huh, I saw it from the window," Ty agreed.

"Me too," said Dioni. "She said stay on the ship and she got a blaster _this_ big—" she held her hands far apart "—and fighted the guards. Nobody _ever_ did that and got away."

"Pretty impressive," said a voice in the doorway.

"Daddy! Mama!" Maya tried to sit up more and had to settle for a smile instead. The cluster of cousins and friends parted to let Luke and Mara through to their daughter.

"So you're a hero," Luke said, kissing the top of her head. She beamed.

"Yep! It's no fun though, because now they won't let me out of bed."

"My poor baby," Mara said sympathetically, hugging her carefully around the big cast that would come off as soon as there was enough bacta in her bones to heal them. "I know, getting hurt is the worst part of being a hero. And you never would have gotten hurt if you had stayed at home. So…you're grounded, honey."

"But, Mom!" Maya practically shouted.

"No buts," Luke said sternly. "You disobeyed us and everyone else. You might have put people in unnecessary danger trying to protect you."

"Even worse," Mara said, "You scared me. Nobody does that to me and gets away with it."

"How long?" Maya asked miserably.

"For life or until we say otherwise," Luke told her. "Oh, and one more thing…I'm proud of you."

"So am I," Mara said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Now, I'm sure everyone else has heard already, but why don't you tell us what you did, my hero?"

* * *

Tenel Ka was sitting in a big chair by Jacen's bed when Jaina came in.

"How is he?" Jaina asked.

"Jaina," Tenel Ka said, standing. "What you did was very foolish. What do you think would have happened to your children without you? What about the one who hasn't been born yet?" Jaina stopped, surprised by the outburst.

"How is my brother?" she asked pointedly.

"I'm fine," said a weak voice from the bed. "What's going on?"

"Jacen! Did we wake you up?" Jaina asked, moving to his side.

"It's okay," he said, smiling. "I feel…funny."

"You are on painkillers," Tenel Ka said. "As soon as Zekk is out of the bacta tank, you will have another treatment."

"Well, it's a good thing…" he trailed off. "I can't remember the punchline."

"Oh, Jacen. It's the drugs, right?"

"Yeah. Who are you again?" Jaina was alarmed until she saw him smile. He was about to say something else, but before he could say it, he was asleep.

"He cannot stay awake very long," Tenel Ka said. "Jaina, my friend, I did not mean to lecture you. But you must remember…not only your children would have mourned your death."

"What was I supposed to do?" Jaina asked. "There was barely enough room in the pod for Zekk and the kids, and I had to get them to safety. "I'm sorry I tricked you, but I knew you'd never leave me." She smiled weakly. "At least I know who I am now."

"You must tell me what happened," said Tenel Ka.

"Yes—" She swayed, and her friend caught her just before she fell.

"No," Tenel Ka amended. "You must rest first."

* * *

"Hey, farm girl?"

"I never lived on a farm," Tahiri murmured, not looking away from the setting sun.

"Well, whatever. What's wrong, blondie?" This drew a small smile. "You're thinking about Anakin, aren't you?"

"Of course," Tahiri sighed. "He was my best friend." Anja set down next to her.

"And…"

"And…I'd hardly seen him since he got married, and now he's dead. Gone forever. I just wish I could have been with him more."

"Why weren't you?" Anja asked.

"Well…there was Miri. She never exactly liked me. Things are different now that he's gone but…"

"But?"

"But…I don't know. If I had been a man…or if I'd had one…"

"Come on, farm girl, if she was jealous of you, that was her own fault. Besides, things are different now. If there's one thing I learned from this family, it's that the past doesn't matter unless you want it to. You've lost a friend, but that doesn't mean you can't gain a new one."

* * *

Jaina and the twins stood by the bacta tank as the techs started draining the fluid. It was Zekk's last bacta treatment.

"Daddy," the twins whispered together.

The tube opened, and Zekk stepped out. He was disoriented for a moment, leaning on the doctors for support. Then his eyes locked with Jaina's.

He moved forward beyond the objecting doctors to Jaina, wrapping his arms around her. They melted into each other.

Then the twins tackled Zekk's knees, and he hugged them too. They were like a family again.

* * *

"Daddy's okay now," Nova said with satisfaction when the three of them left.

"He sure is, kiddo," Jaina said, ruffling her hair. "Come on, you two. I want to talk to you."

"Why?" Luc asked. "Is it a surprise?"

"Something like that." She found a bench in the hallway and sat down, a twin on either side. "You already know about it, but Nova doesn't."

"Do you like Daddy again?" Nova asked with a big grin.

"Of course I like Daddy," Jaina said, "but that's not what I wanted to tell you. You two love each other very much, don't you?"

"Sure," said Nova. "He's my brother." Luc nodded agreement.

"Well," Jaina smiled. "How would you like to have another brother or sister to love?"

"No!" Nova shouted. "You can't have another kid! I already got Luc, I don't want another brother!"

"But it will be fun," Jaina said. "Just like me and Uncle Jacen and Uncle Anakin. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a little girl. Then you'd have a little sister to play with and boss around."

"I don't care! I don't want a sister _or_ a brother! I don't want _anything_!" She jumped off the bench and ran down the hall, disappearing into one of the rooms. Very much surprised, Jaina turned to her son.

"How do you feel about this?" she asked. Torn between his true feelings and wanting to go along with his sister, Luc didn't answer.

* * *

Maya's room, finally, had been cleared out to give her a chance to rest. She was starting to nod off when Nova ran into the room, crying, and jumped into the bed with her.

"What?" Maya asked groggily. She had just been given a pill, which was now doing its best to knock her out.

"Mommy wants to have a baby," Nova said.

"Oh." It was something Maya would care about as soon as she woke up.

"It's not fair," Nova moaned, burying her teary face in Maya's side. Maya put her arm around the younger girl and promptly fell asleep. Although she hadn't actually taken a nap since she was two years old, Nova soon joined her.

* * *

"Don't worry, Mommy, Nova's okay," Luc said. He looked at her stomach. "Is that the baby? Corrie said you were just fat."

_Corrie noticed?_ Jaina thought. _He thinks I'm fat?_

"Name him after Poppy," Luc said. "Can it be twins?"

"No, honey. It's not twins. And we're pretty sure it's going to be a girl."

"No, I want a boy." Luc slapped her stomach. "There. He's a boy now. I used the Force. Hi, baby Han. It's me, your brother." He lay down across the bench and started chattering to Jaina's stomach.

* * *

"They're so cute." Mara and Jaina stood in the doorway, watching their daughters sleep. At that moment Jaina felt closer to her aunt than ever.

"What was Maya like when the twins were born?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Well, she didn't really understand it at first, but when they were born she was so proud of herself for being a big sister. I take it you've broken the news to your little ones?" Jaina nodded.

"Luc seems okay with it, but Nova threw a little tantrum. She's always been the tantrumy one."

"Well, give her time," Mara advised. "When little Jaina Junior is born Nova won't have a bad word to say about her…You're sure it's a girl?"

"It's a girl. Luc thinks I should name her after Dad."

"Oh, come on!" Mara laughed. "We already have a Luc and Lei, and my Aurora Jade…I don't know if this family could stand a Han-ette."

"No, there should only be one of my dad," Jaina agreed, carefully closing the door so as not to wake up the girls. Down the hall, Luc was coming out of the bacta room, finally tired of watching the techs. Jaina was already having visions of her son as a doctor. She supposed she was as bad as her own mother.

"Mommy, that man said Uncle Jacen's gonna get out of the baka tank pretty soon," Luc said, wrapping his arms around her legs. "How come they only got one tank here? When Uncle Jacen comes out can we play stuff? How come Corrie's not a Jedi, Mommy? Is Daddy almost better now?"

"When did you turn into such a chatterbox?" Jaina asked, picking him up. She had to lean against the wall to be able to hold him. Luc wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a big kiss.

"You're my favorite mommy," he said.

"You're my favorite son."

* * *

Miri sat at the top of the hill, looking up at the sky. The sun had set minutes ago, and now the stars were beginning to show.

"Mom?" Miri didn't have to turn around to know Jad was standing behind her. She patted a spot on the ground beside her, and after a second a familiar little warm body was pressed against her. Miri didn't say anything, just put her arm around him and held him close.

"Do you still love us?" Jad asked after a long time of sitting.

"What?" Miri pulled him onto her lap and looked into his eyes. "Of _course_ I still love you! Why would you think I didn't?"

"You goed away and Dad and Uncle Jacen and Mr. Zekk and Maya all got bad hurt. Was it a lot scary?"

"Yes, a lot scary," Miri agreed. She wondered what he was getting at, but she couldn't follow little-boy logic that well. "I almost thought I might not get back to my boys and my little girl…for a long time, I mean. But see, here I am, and here you are."

"Why did you go away when you might not come back?" Jad asked.

"Well," Miri said, speaking very slowly, "I had to help the others. That bad man who took you and your friends still had Nova, and we had to get her back. And, I had to stop him and make sure he never came after my family again."

"Taner said you goed away because you didn't like us anymore."

"Who's Taner?" Miri asked. Jad shrugged.

"A big kid. He said moms do that."

"Well, not this mom," Miri said, giving him a hug.

"You're brave," said Jad. She could hear in his voice that he was starting to get sleepy, so she picked him up and headed back to the village to put him to bed.

* * *

Little Lei was lying in a bed designed for children bigger than she was, nearly asleep. She blew little spit bubbles as she breathed. Tahiri watched her with a smile. She was really falling in love with that baby girl.

Lei started to fuss a little, and Tahiri put her hand on the pudgy little tummy and started to sing a lullaby she had learned from Tionne, years ago.

"In the night, Stars shine bright, And the moon is at her height, Lending us a little light, Nothing comes to give you fright, Stars shine bright. Go to sleep, go to sleep, I will watch around you keep, I don't know all of the words, so I hope you'll go to sleep…"

"You have a nice voice," someone said, startling her.

"Miri!" She blushed. "I don't sing much. I just thought maybe it would help."

"She seems pretty happy," Miri said. She carried her sleepy little boy over to the bed and laid him down beside his sister. "Be good for me?" He nodded. "Go to sleep, sweetie. And be careful of the baby." She pulled the covers up over both of them. "I love you."

"Love you, Mommy," Jad muttered. Miri and Tahiri started to leave. "Mommy?"

"Yes, Jad?"

"Daddy went away. Did he stop loving us?"

"No, Jad!" Miri said, going back to his side. "Daddy didn't stop loving you. Daddy will always love you." He yawned.

"I love…Daddy…too…"

Miri kissed his forehead as he closed his eyes. She joined Tahiri in the hallway and closed the door, sniffing back the fresh tears that threatened once again.

"Thanks for watching Lei," Miri said. She still didn't feel exactly comfortable around Tahiri, but at least it wasn't so hard to be around her anymore. At least not for the same reason.

"I'm sorry," said Tahiri.

"What?"

"Oh—I didn't mean to pick that up. It's just that you were thinking really loud."

"I…was?"

"It's the emotions," Tahiri explained. "You were thinking of him."

"Anakin…"

"You really loved him, didn't you?" The answer was obvious.

"Tell me about the Force," Miri said, changing the subject to stop herself from losing control again. Tahiri sat down on a nearby bench.

"There's a lot to tell," she said. "What do you want to know?"

"People are usually born with the Force, or it comes to them when they're young. Do you know if the Force ever comes to an adult who never had it before?"

"I've never heard of it, but I guess it's possible. Why? Do you—" Miri nodded.

"I don't understand it," she said. "It just sort of…happened. We were fighting and, well, there wasn't a whole lot I could do. Then Anakin and Jacen got hurt, and…I guess I got knocked out. Then everything started changing colours, and then everything was gone, and I was talking to…Anakin."

"And you were both unconscious?" Tahiri asked, thoughtfully. Miri felt tears coming up, and blinked them back.

"I don't think so," she whispered. "It was after he died." Tahiri frowned, lost in thought.

"A ghost, then." She tried to remember her lessons. "Sometimes it takes a while to fully leave this existence. Is he gone now?"

"I don't know…"

"Do you ever feel him?" Miri shook her head. "Then he's probably gone on. He must be what triggered your new abilities—it's usually caused by strong emotion if you're not born into it. You must have always had the potential, and seeing him hurt triggered the strongest thing you could use to protect him."

"But it didn't work," Miri said. "I didn't save him."

"You saved yourself," said Tahiri. "If you learn to use this, you'll be able to save others if the situation ever comes up again—but let's hope it doesn't."

"How do I learn?" Miri asked.

"I'll teach you."


End file.
